Bring You Sunshine
by A Stereotypical Gamer
Summary: Jaune Arc possesses a unique ability to forge friendship in strangers. More than that, he can see the good where others do not. When it comes to a psychopathic criminal and a former terrorist, he starts to see a side neither knew they had... and a way to bring them back to the light. Cover image courtesy of Redditor GrapesWithCoffee.
1. Everyone Can Be

**Bring You Sunshine**

By A Stereotypical Gamer

* * *

 **Chapter One: Everyone Can Be**

 _The First Semester at Beacon_

Blake was missing. Whatever other revelations Weiss had to offer them, there was nothing more significant than that. There was no detail more important to focus on, and no rationale that would've compelled him to leave an internal struggle within Team RWBY alone. No matter how Weiss protested her… entirely different concerns about Blake, Jaune still rallied his team to join the hunt and help their sister team find their lost member. Whatever Blake was, whatever Blake had been, she was their friend and they would help to bring her home.

Ren and Nora would scour Beacon campus alongside a somewhat recalcitrant Weiss, and Pyrrha and Jaune would go into Vale, if Blake had made it so far. Eventually they'd all move into the city, if they couldn't find Blake on the school grounds.

Jaune and Pyrrha were well suited to asking around. Pyrrha wasn't recognized by _everyone_ , but a substantial majority of people recognized the girl who appeared on their kids' cereal boxes. Jaune had already made inroads with a handful of Vale shopkeepers (many of whom seemed oddly familiar to each other) and had developed enough of a rapport that he could ask for information without anyone begrudging him not sampling their wares. Unfortunately, they had no luck.

They were fortunate no classes awaited them, though it made for a pretty rotten weekend. All they could do was worry about their missing friend. Pyrrha couldn't even appreciate her time spent alone with Jaune. A weekend jaunt into Vale, walking through the city limits alongside him… she hadn't quite envisioned that their first excursion together would be as part of a search party for a missing Blake.

Still, she hadn't become a regional champion by spurning opportunity. Nor had she forgotten how to disguise her approach.

"You should tell me how you came to know all these people," Pyrrha suggested, as Jaune waved farewell to yet another shopkeeper he seemed on friendly terms with. She framed it innocently enough, and suspected Jaune wouldn't read into it. Even if he inferred Pyrrha's attempt to turn his thoughts from Blake, hopefully Jaune would be encouraged to answer just the same.

"It's weird to me being in a big city like this one," Jaune explained. "It's weird not knowing everybody, not running into town and trading goods, asking how their families are. I mean, not everybody's gonna' want to be your friend, but I like to think that everyone _can_ be, if you make the effort."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. Jaune may have been achingly naïve in certain ways, but it seemed he excelled at social graces. Well, _some_ of them, anyway. He was still chasing after Weiss despite her obvious lack of interest.

Her smile faded at the thought. While Pyrrha had no doubt Jaune had joined the search party because he wanted to help Blake, she couldn't help but wonder if he'd been motivated –at least in part- by winning Weiss's favor as well. Ruby may have spearheaded the entire hunt for her missing teammate, but the subtle hints on Team RW_Y's faces told Pyrrha it was _Weiss_ who needed to speak to Blake. Yet another of those social clues Jaune wasn't wholly aware of.

And Ruby… no, Pyrrha couldn't let herself dwell on this. Far too often she stopped to wonder what hooks the other girls had in Jaune, and every time she stopped to think about it she made herself depressed. Jaune liked Weiss and was very close with Ruby. Neither of those facts should bother Pyrrha, but they did.

Pyrrha kept her attention on Jaune, and taking his mind off Blake… mostly because she was trying to alleviate his worries, and only _partially_ so she could have his attention to herself. "And how long have you known these fine gentlemen?"

"Oh, I met most of the food vendors first," Jaune elaborated. "Nora goes through the pantry so fast, and Ren likes to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. I think it was like, the third weekend of the semester when I first went out with a big shopping list and started asking around. All the owners know each other and pointed out who was best for eggs, who made the best fresh bread… everyone does something well and I just make the rounds."

Pyrrha fell silent and just let him talk. Hopefully letting him go on for a bit would bring out the enthusiastic boy she so wished to listen to. She wanted nothing more than Jaune to be happy, and to hear his voice when he was happy.

Dangerous thought though that was.

"And after that it was just stuff I picked up," Jaune continued. "Yang told me about the shadier side of town –apparently she used to hang out there- and Velvet told me about this great clothing store where her team shops at-"

He paused. Pyrrha took note of the sudden and unwelcome gap in their pleasant conversation and turned her attention back to him. Jaune raised a finger to his chin and narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

"What is it?" Pyrrha wondered.

"And _Blake_ told me about a bookstore," Jaune finished his thought. "I mean, I don't know if she headed that way, but it's a better lead than just asking every store we pass by." Pyrrha certainly agreed with that.

Wait, Blake talked to Jaune about books at some point? And he'd had conversations with Yang and Velvet that Pyrrha hadn't known about?

Questions for later. Now may have been the time to raise spirits, but it wasn't the time to indulge in such petty displeasure. "Let's go."

* * *

 _The Shadier Side of Town_

She didn't want him to go. But then, she never did.

She knew he needed to operate independently sometimes. She knew that he had to be constantly on the move, to never grow too accustomed to any one setting. Even the apartment they were renting now would only be home a few weeks longer; soon they'd be moving to the docks and staying in a warehouse fulltime as they looked over the Dust stockpile.

That didn't matter to her. So long as she had him, she was content. So long as he was nearby, she was at home. So long as she knew where he was, she was safe and happy.

She was getting a bit too clingy. Roman had to squirm his way out from her grip. "They'll be here soon, kiddo. Gotta put on a show for our guests."

Neo sighed but reluctantly released her grip. He was right, of course. He usually was. Only on very rare occasions when he was being needlessly reckless did Neo ever make any serious effort to dissuade him. And given what a wild vagabond Roman Torchwick was, Neo only ever felt the need to intervene when he was dumb enough to be _particularly_ crazy.

And this latest scheme _was_ insane. Roman was entering into an alliance not with other criminals out to make a big score, but terrorists rooted in an ideology, and all of them under the umbrella of some mysterious benefactor Neo had yet to meet. There were too many moving parts in the plan, too many conflicting ideas, too many possible outcomes.

And so she clung on to Roman, trying to dissuade him. Normally he took her advice when Neo conveyed it properly. Now he was being resistant, and that only encouraged Neo to lock tighter. Even after letting him go she kept edging closer to him, kept reaching out to take hold of him.

Roman sensed her trepidation and knelt down. Neo was in two minds about this: sometimes she felt he was treating her like a child by dropping down to her level, and others she appreciated the effort he went to so he could look her in the eye.

No one else could. They all retracted from her, frightened by the two different colors staring back at them. But Roman was a man without fear. He alone could look Neo in the eye.

And he alone she loved, if only for that.

Still, she was expecting a lecture. Time was of the essence, and in the back of her mind Neo knew she was behaving childishly. This robbery would net them a lot of Lien, and while they didn't need the money today, tomorrow could easily be a different story. Roman's face was plastered over the news after a huntress foiled his _last_ robbery, and he needed this job to go well so they could keep a nest egg for themselves and not fork over all their proceeds to their demanding (and invisible) employer.

But to her surprise, Roman's green eyes were soft. He hadn't come to lecture her. Even if Neo merited it, he hadn't come to be harsh.

"Remember what I taught you, kid?" Roman asked.

There were a lot of lessons, some of which he'd taught her more than once. But there were three that stood out more than the others, each repeated in succession: _never believe, never trust, and never hope_.

Neo nodded three times and smiled.

"I don't trust these hyenas and I never will," Roman assured her. "I don't trust the boss lady and I never will. But I _do_ trust you. I _only_ trust you."

And she only trusted him. Without each other, they'd have been dead more than once. Without Roman, she'd be lost.

"Which is why I need you to watch the stuff for me," Roman went on. "I _want_ to bring you in on the job, but I need someone to look out for what we've already got if things go south. And they might, because I've never worked with these animals before. I don't know what'll happen when we try. I _do_ know what'll happen if I leave things to you."

He alone had faith in her. Neo nodded again.

"This'll be over before you know it," Roman promised. "And when things finally settle down, we'll be sitting pretty. Just a little longer."

Neo hugged him again. This time Roman indulged her, wrapping one arm over her back and pulling her in, letting her remain in that embrace until they heard a knock at the door.

"Guest manners, kid," Roman instructed, moving back to his feet and putting on his confident swagger.

Neo complied, standing with her arms crossed and removing the little traces of affection from her smile, replacing it by a coy, even psychotic underpinning. Small though she was, her smile could terrify even the most violent and dangerous of men, and it was always best to intimidate any new business partners before going in on an operation together.

She'd worry for him while they were apart. But before she could allow herself the indulgence, she'd show her fangs to the Faunus, to let them know they shouldn't dare threaten her or her own.

* * *

 _Home to every book under the sun_

Tukson wasn't much help… _at all_. He insisted he didn't know Blake and denied ever having sold to her before. Jaune wasn't very good at telling when people were hiding things, but Pyrrha noticed the subtle change in his tone. At first he was quite friendly and personable. After Blake's name was mentioned he became a lot sharper in his invective. Perhaps they had a quarrel. Or perhaps he thought he was protecting her from some unknown entities. Or perhaps he just hadn't expected to be asked about a customer by a pair of students who had no intention of buying anything.

Jaune didn't seem perturbed by it. But Pyrrha began to wonder… and on her way out of Tukson's Book Trade she took a moment to glance behind her, to see where the proprietor might go or what he might do. She noticed something very subtly extend from his fingers… and then retract almost as quickly as it had protracted.

Almost like… claws…

Why would he hide that? What need would a Faunus feel to conceal himself? Was it because the police in Vale were so eager to chase after the White Fang, whether they'd committed any crimes in town or not? And what was his tie to Blake?

Jaune broke Pyrrha from her deep thought process by holding up his Scroll for her to see. "Just heard from Ren. Weiss went with Yang to go ask around and he wanted to know which shops we hit up. Just so we don't double up."

Pyrrha refocused her attention on the task at hand. "Yes, of course." She looked straight ahead as they walked out of the bookstore, putting the curious actions of Tukson out of her mind, hoping she could refocus her attention elsewhere and not dwell on her suspicions. "I don't suppose you have any other leads?"

Jaune shook his head. "Wish I had something better to tell you." He withdrew and pocketed his Scroll, and as he headed away from the storefront, his eyes moved to stare at the pleated stone ground, and his steps were slow and trudging.

He never took personal failure well, but this concern he was showing now… this genuine fear for Blake…

Pyrrha tried not to let it bother her. She knew he was trying to help. The fact he was trying to help a pretty girl with a mysterious past _should_ have been inconsequential… but try as she might to convince herself as such, it _wasn't_. Not to her.

Still, she hated to see him respond like this. Pyrrha reached a hand to his shoulder, trying to offer him reassurance as she could. He looked up at her and smiled, reaching over to briefly take hold of her wrist, to return her gesture of support and affection, if only for a moment.

It was barely a brush. His fingers touched her skin a few fractions of a second.

It was all she needed.

* * *

 _Outside the Storehouse_

Guard duty was never fun. It was dull, monotonous work, even when there were others around to occupy her attention. So far the pair of White Fang soldiers sent to see the place hadn't caused any problems, just patrolling outside the building…

Neo wondered how things had progressed at the docks with the shipping crates. The White Fang had taken Roman in a Bullhead and joined up with a small fleet of other dropships. Hopefully they could just snatch and grab and be on their way.

Night had fallen. Security was already being diverted in preparation for the Vytal Festival. If Roman was out quickly, they'd never even realize what had happen until hours after he left. She shouldn't have been so concerned, but she couldn't help herself. Something was amiss. Something prevented her from cruising her way through an easy assignment, dull though it was.

Then, of course, something _did_ go wrong. Neo was seated on an empty shipping crate outside their warehouse when she saw it; an explosion of Dust at the docks, a flicker of orange across the shallow water lane. They were only a short jaunt away, but heavy mists on the water were meant to obscure the Bullheads escape, and now they were blocking everything but that faint orange glow.

The two White Fang soldiers with her had stopped to observe it too. For a long moment all three just looked out across the waves, wondering what had become of their friends and comrades.

Sloppy. Neo should've known better than to let herself be distracted. But she couldn't help it… Roman in danger was the best way to distract her.

One of the soldiers behind her pulled out his Scroll. Neo slowly glanced back at the two, forcing herself to look away from the docks and try not to think of Roman. He'd entrusted her with a task, and she'd carry it out.

Her ostensible allies, on the other hand…

She heard them whisper to each other, speculating about a double cross and murmuring about just how much Dust their criminal partners _already_ had. She heard one draw his rifle and suggest they find out for themselves.

Neo slowly reached for her umbrella. And she thought this night would be _dull_.

* * *

Pyrrha saw the explosion immediately. Jaune followed her gaze towards the billowing smoke and immediately issued his instruction: "Go. You'll get there faster."

She had no intention of leaving him behind, but conceded that to be true. At her worried expression, Jaune assured Pyrrha: "I'll catch up. I'm going to try and get in touch with Ren and Nora and we'll regroup with you."

That put Pyrrha's mind at ease. She gave Jaune's shoulder one more affectionate grip before rushing ahead. Jaune sent a message to Ren along with location data on his Scroll as he moved to follow after Pyrrha, not trying to match her speed, only to keep that smoky trail in his line of sight as he followed after his partner to the docks.

Unfortunately, he missed a turn somewhere staring at a pillar of smoke rather than the ground beneath his feet and in trying to move directly _towards_ it he ended up on a wharf separated from that guiding source by a stretch of ocean and hazy mist. Not a _long_ stretch, but he really wasn't looking forward to swimming his way across.

Still, Jaune knew his course. If this was in any way related to Blake… or if he'd just sent Pyrrha into danger for no reason… either way, he had to help if he could. Either way it was faster to dive in than go back around.

But before he could finally muster the enthusiasm to dive in, his attention was drawn by the sound of gunfire. At first he thought it might've been from the same location as the explosion, but he eventually noticed it sounded much closer… and then he saw the muzzle flash of blue Dust rounds to his right, and _not_ across the water.

As he focused his attention on it, Jaune saw a pair of men clad in white, with a very distinct red crest: a Beowolf head and three scratches. They were those criminals Lisa Lavender had been talking about lately.

And though he couldn't make out all the details, he saw a short person –most likely a girl- in white and brown crouched down behind a shipping crate as bullets rained around her.

His friends may have been in trouble, but he knew for certain this girl was too. And he was close enough he could do something about it. What other course of action was there to take?

Jaune drew Crocea Mors and approached, trying to look more confident than he felt.

* * *

Neo really had indulged these two long enough. They must've felt powerful, thinking they had her at their mercy, that they could kill her at any moment. They'd enjoyed that illusion long enough.

Illusions were only meant to last for so long. Neo knew that better than most.

She'd left the facsimile behind the crate for a long while, and snuck right past all their gunfire. Now she would strike from behind, disarming them, and then leaving them with wounds that would prevent their retreat… letting her take time to pick the bones. All she needed do now was draw her blade from within her umbrella, let them hear the audible sound of metal unsheathed…

"Get away from her!"

…or the sound of some other new unknown element just show up and ruin everything.

He ran right past her, raising an old shield and swinging an old sword. He was tall, but most everyone looked that way from her perspective.

He was a child swinging toys around. And idiots though the White Fang soldiers had proven themselves, he'd still been dumb enough to bring a sword to a gunfight.

They both turned their guns on him, and Neo suspected his brief display of courage had led to an untimely end. Such was the fate of reckless fools… well, reckless fools who weren't Roman, anyway.

But he blocked many of their bullets with his heavy shield. What he couldn't deflect he took on armor plates over his hoodie. And what made it past each of those impediments he took with his Aura; Aura that held firm against the hail of gunfire.

He moved to attack them after their initial volley. His movements were slow and clumsy, and easy to telegraph, even by the White Fang's lowest-ranked. They dodged his swing, but the strength of his attack released a burst of air pressure that gave them pause.

Neo had meant to take her time with them, but if she didn't intervene she wasn't sure exactly what would happen between the trio and who might end up dead. Idiot though this brave boy was, Neo hadn't meant anyone else to die… though she hadn't expected him to live as long as he had.

She interceded, slashing each of them across the chest, disrupting each soldier's Aura with a single motion. Neo moved to cut them at their necks and end matters quickly… but the boy acted first, swinging wildly, driving both soldiers back against the wall of the storehouse. Without their Aura to defend them, they received strikes from the blunt side of a sword and then bashed against metal sheet wall, and landed in two unconscious heaps. The air pressure of the boy's swings and her targets no longer in place to absorb the impact of her attack, Neo tumbled through the air and over the shipping crate, crashing into and shattering her own facsimile.

It was rare she was ever so clumsy. She was grateful her enemies had been knocked out before they could see it.

As she hoisted herself up to rest on her knees, Neo glanced towards the clumsy boy who'd interfered in this matter. He'd put his sword away… apparently he hadn't seen the thin blade in Neo's hand when she sailed past him. She moved quickly to conceal it inside her umbrella as he headed over… she'd draw it quickly if the need arose.

But when he reached her, knelt beside the empty crate, it was a hand he offered down to her. Neo looked up at him, a bit too drained by exertion to disguise herself. A pair of blue eyes looked down at her, meeting brown and pink irises…

…and not retracting from her. Not looking away from something that unnerved so many. He looked upon her, hand extended, without fear, without revulsion. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Neo was too surprised that someone was looking her in the eye. All she did was stare up at his eyes, and stare for far too long. Despite how long she stared, he never once seemed uncomfortable with the intense gaze firmly locked with his own. He just continued to reach to her.

Slowly, Neo accepted his hand, and he pulled her to her feet with stunning strength… too much strength, in fact, as he nearly pulled Neo off the ground when he hoisted her up. When he finally averted his gaze, it was in embarrassment, as he quietly muttered: "Sorry."

Neo was still stunned by this boy. When he was able to look upon her again, when he met her eye again, she remembered how it felt when Roman first met her eye. She remembered how strange it felt for someone to look at her without fear.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

Neo knew she'd been behaving oddly. She should've played up the damsel role while he seemed inclined –and naïve enough- to buy it. She nodded rapidly, squeezing his hand tightly as she tried to feign her doubts and fears being alleviated.

"Good," the boy assured her, sounding genuinely relieved. "I'm glad they didn't hurt you."

Neo wished she could speak. But for the moment, she suspected her silence was helping the act. She suspected it seemed genuine, the response of a timid girl after experiencing a trauma.

"Get yourself somewhere safe and tell the police," he instructed to her. "I need to get across the water to the docks."

The docks? Where Roman was? Why?

"Um… can I have my hand back?" he sheepishly inquired.

Neo's eyes widened as she looked down, to her small, gloved hand still clinging to his massive fingers. She withdrew it rapidly, stunned by how absentminded she'd been.

"If I can I'll come back and see if you're okay," the boy assured her. He smiled again, before leaping down into the water, despite his heavy armor and weapons.

Neo just looked on, flabbergasted, as the blonde slowly swam through the misty waves. She watched him until he disappeared from sight, before looking down at her hand.

She wasn't usually so clingy. It wasn't usually so hard for her to let go.

Neo shook her head. She still had a task to attend to.

She turned to the White Fang soldiers and unsheathed her blade. They needed to be dealt with, and their betrayal swiftly punished.

A few moments later, two more bodies splashed into the water.

* * *

Team RWBY and their new friend Sun Wukong were celebrating their successful outing, having foiled Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, only for another new friend -a girl named Penny Polendina- to vanish, right in the middle of a crowd of police officers no less. Pyrrha arrived just as Ruby was scouring the crime scene for any sign of her missing friend, who'd apparently been quite instrumental in driving away the dangerous criminal.

One of the policemen stepped over to them, and asked in a ridiculously fake accent: "Uh, you girls know this blonde kid we fished out of the harbor? Says he's looking for his friends."

"Guys!" a soaked Jaune waved, before hacking and coughing and spitting up water. Pyrrha instantly ran over to him, as one of the police officers put a blanket on him. Pyrrha scolded him for whatever stunt he'd pulled to end up in such straits, but when he saw Blake amid their crowd of friends, all he did was smile and wave, cold and miserable as he looked.

"Did he… swim over here?" Weiss wondered.

"He was trying to help," Ruby instantly rushed to her friend's defense.

Yang elbowed her partner from behind. "Guess he was worried about you, Blake."

Blake only nodded, glancing around at her friends and then turning her attention to Jaune, still hacking up water. Ineffective though his efforts had been, Blake couldn't deny he'd made them.

All of her friends had come searching. None had given up the chase like she'd expected.

Not even him.

Jaune Arc…

* * *

Neo paced back and forth inside the storehouse, walking past massive shipping containers laden with Dust. Roman hadn't responded to her texts, and she was becoming increasingly wary.

She had to know he was all right. She had to know things would be okay, even if the job had been blown.

She had to look into his eyes again.

Then, at last, hours later, he replied. He was alive. He was okay.

And interrupted by a girl in red, apparently the same one who'd screwed up his Dust robbery before… and a pair of Faunus kids, including a girl with a black bow.

That made it easy for Neo. She had targets to focus her rage upon. The White Fang who betrayed them, and the brats who made her worry.

And as it happened, she might've had a lead on where to find those who caused Roman such trouble… another kid had meant to intervene, and tried to swim across the harbor to reach the battle site.

Neo wouldn't mind looking in his eyes again either…


	2. Reaching Out

**Chapter Two:** **Reaching Out**

* * *

 _The Early Hours_

Neo waited up for him. Even knowing he'd made it out okay, she had no intention of sleeping until she had the additional confirmation she'd sought. When he finally stepped back inside, she rushed to embrace him, to hear his heart beat against her head and take in his scent. Roman knew to indulge her and without anyone around to witness this brief moment of affection and vulnerability, he returned the gesture by holding Neo to him and letting her take in her fill.

Once Neo was sated and relaxed her grip, Roman stepped away from her and pulled out a cigar. He didn't usually smoke in the apartment; but given the expression he wore and the way his hand shook when he tried to flick on his lighter, he really needed something to calm his nerves. Neo guided him to their couch and sat beside him, taking the lighter from him and helping him with the cigar.

Roman took a few seconds to inhale, intentionally breathing out away from Neo, to mitigate the smoke as much as he could. He showed no one else such consideration; no one but her. "I met with our benefactor again tonight," Roman explained. "And she wasn't thrilled about me botching the job at the docks."

There weren't many who shook Roman's confidence. It never suited him to be so timid, but this mysterious woman employing them could stop the deadly criminal in his tracks. She could put a leash on a man freer than any Neo had ever known, and that alone was reason to fear her… _and_ to hate her.

"And she wasn't alone," Roman added. "She brought in two others to our meeting; more cronies she's forcing me to work with. There were already more people in on this job than I was comfortable with, and now she wants to add more moving parts, more targets for us to seize."

Neo had tried to dissuade him from going to the docks with the White Fang without her. Roman had convinced her to undertake another important mission instead; and good thing he had, because the White Fang might've already seized what Dust had already been secured if Neo hadn't put a stop to them. If she hadn't met a blue-eyed boy...

Neo put that thought from her mind. She needed to help Roman through this. He was doing her the kindness of trusting her with his problem. She'd save sharing the detail about the boy (and whatever friends he may have had that screwed up Roman's plans) once she had some more solid information there. She settled close to him, no matter how much he smelled of smoke. She listened intently to what little he had to say.

"I've got to up the quota," Roman went on. "And… I have to do this fast, and I have to do this discreetly." He turned his attention back to Neo. "And I need to do this without you."

Neo scrunched up her face and glared at him. If he thought for even a moment she'd let him do this again-

"I need you to watch the storehouse," Roman explained. "She insisted on knowing where it was and moving her White Fang there. And I need someone in there I can trust… and someone who won't be seen."

She was still upset, but Neo was starting to understand what he meant. She'd be worried about leaving him alone –worried more than ever- but once again he was entrusting with her a task, and a task he could only leave to her. Eventually, after maintaining her glare a while longer, with his green eyes staring right back at her, Neo's expression softened and she nodded.

Roman slid a hand beside her head, sliding his fingers through the brown strands and pulling her head in close. With his free hand he pulled the cigar from his mouth and out of the way, so that when he pressed his chin to her he wouldn't dribble any ash on her head. He held her there a moment, taking initiative and showing her affection for a change.

Neo lived for this feeling. To know someone cared for her, and would hold her close. It shuttered any memory of being alone, of being unwanted. It gave her contentment in a way all the Lien she and Roman made never could.

Roman held there for several moments before he released her, and explained where he'd be hitting next and how long he'd be before he could rejoin her. Neo listened closely, counting each additional score and weighing how long it'd be until their task was done and their payment rendered.

Until at last Roman was truly free again.

* * *

 _The Same Night_

Blake reached her arm to the side of her bed, searching for him. When she found only mattress and sheets, when her fingers clenched the folds of the cloth and felt nothing more, she woke, looking at the empty space where she'd expected to find him. She pulled her arm back and pressed it to her chest, clenching herself tightly and trying to will the cold away.

She hadn't woken like this since the first few unfamiliar nights at Beacon. She hadn't thought of him much at all if she could help it, and after a period of adjustment she'd finally managed to sleep through the night and once again become accustomed to sleeping by herself.

It was silly to think of him resting beside her in this tiny bunk bed. It was stranger still to think she'd expect to find him there beside her… that she'd _want_ to find him there and feel his warmth.

All because earlier in the day her past had caught up with her. The White Fang had crossed a line she'd have never condoned by working with a criminal anarchist like Roman Torchwick, presumably splitting their score of Dust with him. The White Fang stealing from the SDC wasn't so unusual, but that their choice in allies…

The White Fang dominated her thoughts now. And as a result, she was thinking of the better times when she'd heartily embraced them and their mission. She was thinking of when she'd been so passionate as to march in lockstep with the soldiers –possibly even some of those same men she and Sun fought against earlier today- and when she'd been so committed to the mission that she believed violence was called for, that the humans oppressing them had earned it paid unto them.

And when she'd doubted herself and her mission, she reached an arm out and held onto him, and her faith had been restored. She had only to feel his presence to center herself and put her mind at ease.

When she left him on the train, it had taken her a long time to swing Gambol Shroud and separate the two cars. For a brief moment she considered stopping herself, because she did still love him, no matter what he'd changed into. If she'd been a little stronger, if he loved her like she loved him, then maybe she could bring him back from the dangerous path he was on, and return him to the good man he'd been before.

It was so much easier to run then. So much easier to forget her feelings in that moment, knowing that Adam wouldn't catch up to her… that the White Fang, that her past, that her _love_ were all trapped in a train car a long way down the rail from her.

But then she'd stepped off the train and realized she was still carrying Adam with her. Every step reminded her what she'd left behind, and the path she'd diverged from… and more painfully, that she would now walk alone. It was not so easy to forget _that_.

Blake sat up in her bed and looked around the room. Ruby slept peacefully in her precariously swaying bunk. Yang was snoring loudly beneath her. Weiss would toss and turn on occasion, but she was asleep, at the very least. She may have been troubled, but clearly not so much as Blake.

She cared deeply for her new friends, and was grateful for them, accepting her after all the terrible truths they'd learned about her. Weiss had made it clear that whatever reasons they'd had to dislike each other, she would not be troubled by the actions of Blake's past and instead judge her by her character in the present. And Blake liked to think she'd become a better person since she'd stepped off that train.

But still she reached for him… still she tried to find a violent and angry man to settle her thoughts. Still she tried to envision her life as it had been, with him in it, with him providing answers, and providing her with companionship. Still she wondered what could have been if she'd just managed to stay behind and finish what they began together.

Would the White Fang have ever fallen so far if Blake had stayed there with him? Would Adam have continued to get worse, or could she have made him better with her love?

And most of all, Blake wondered if he woke like this too, cold and alone and reaching out for her.

Blake fell back into bed and rolled onto her back, spreading out her arms and legs and trying to take up as much of the bunk as possible so she wouldn't reach to one side in search of him.

All that meant was it was easier for the cold to find her.

* * *

 _The Second Semester, the Day Before Classes Resume_

Professor Goodwitch had done most of the hard work for them, putting the tables back into place and collecting the food and trash into a single location. Then Yang came crashing through the ceiling and kicking up _another_ mess. If Goodwitch had any patience left after cleaning up the wreckage of the epic RWBY/JNPR battle, it was clearly gone by the time Yang added to her workload.

Goodwitch stitched up the hole in the ceiling and then ordered them to clean up the remaining mess. Professor Ozpin interceded to stifle Professor Goodwitch's rage, but even he agreed that the students should clean up the mess they made; he was just a bit more good-natured about it.

Blake had spent most of her time gathering the food trays they'd scattered about. It was better than the rest of her teammates, stuck cleaning up the food they'd spilled. And Weiss had the temerity to waste a perfectly good swordfish, so it seemed a fitting punishment.

She glanced around the room. Pyrrha was using her Semblance to right the vending machines they'd knocked over while Nora gathered the various soda cans that had been knocked around. When she started drinking from the unfinished ones, Ren stopped trying to separate trash from recycling and moved to stop her before she took in too much caffeine. Jaune was collecting the various student belongings, including Weiss's Vytal Festival plans that had become Ruby's BEST DAY EVER agenda.

And a smaller notebook, unmarked but full of doodles, including of a blonde Faunus boy with a weapon strapped over his back. Jaune didn't seem to notice what it was; only opening to the page that had been recently creased and searching for a name or other identifying characteristic.

Blake abandoned the food trays and started discreetly making her way over to him. She doubted he was trying to ascertain more about Blake's private thoughts on Sun, but she'd been just as quick to shut down Yang before Blake's own partner noticed anything. Jaune would eventually notice what Blake wrote about him and ask (loudly) all about the Faunus exchange student from Mistral.

Fortunately, he was still searching the same two pages for a name (rather than the front or the cover) and Blake very casually asked: "Do you need help?"

Jaune was still scouring the pages… the same two pages he'd held open the entire time. "Most of the stuff here was labeled, but I can't seem to find a name on this one."

Blake tried to be patient with him, formulating a way to take the notes from his hands in such a way that didn't involve anything too aggressive or too blatant. "I'd be happy to trade with you," Blake suggested. "I'd much rather be looking for names than hauling all those trays around." None of that was true, but Blake thought it might sound as such.

Jaune immediately handed the book to Blake. "I'll get right to it." He then pointed at what had already been completed, backpacks and notebooks and errant Scrolls nicely organized on the clean tables. He'd actually made quite a bit of progress before Blake interceded and her notes had befuddled him.

Jaune stepped past and gathered up the food trays Blake had been collecting. She found herself watching him gather them up, taking a big unsteady tower in his grip and moving them out of the way. He finished rapidly, and Blake had made very little progress by the time he'd returned, only managing to hide her notes away and go through a few nametags.

Jaune then rejoined her, moving rapidly in acquiring the various student possessions and hoisting up the heaviest items. Blake found herself staring again as he performed the difficult manual labor in conjunction with the delicate search for names, once again making very little progress… her mind was too busy wandering.

Two weeks earlier, before their break, Jaune had joined them at the docks, fished out of the harbor by the cops, soaking wet. He'd apparently tried to swim across the water to reach them, and despite his strength and energy hadn't _quite_ made it. Like the rest of her friends, he'd been searching for Blake when she was missing. Maybe he'd known she was a Faunus, maybe he'd known she was once a member of the White Fang, maybe he hadn't. Either way he'd come to her aid and offered what help he could, even if it had cost him to do so. And now, even after Blake had given him an out from their cleaning duty he remained to help his friend, and not even a friend who happened to be his teammate.

Blake casually glanced back at the other members of Team JNPR. Blake could feel Pyrrha's green eyes digging into her, simply because she was standing somewhere in Jaune's vicinity. Pyrrha was much too nice to glare, but she was no less possessive of her partner than Blake had once been, whenever he'd stopped to talk to _any_ girl, even a girl like Ilia Blake considered a close friend.

Jaune had no idea how fortunate he was to have someone so protective of him. He was also incredibly dense to not notice, but such was Jaune's way. It probably helped Pyrrha to be forgiving of Blake that Jaune was helping Blake because she was his friend, and not just helping her because she was a pretty girl batting her eyelashes at him. It probably made it quite a bit easier for Pyrrha to bear knowing that six of Jaune's closest friends at Beacon were girls, and they really couldn't do much to help that fact.

But Jaune had made other friends. When Pyrrha reached them at the docks, she'd explained how she and Jaune had gone through the city making inquiries of all the shopkeepers, all of whom he'd been on friendly terms with. And then Blake recounted how after Jaune had finally stood up to Cardin he'd made efforts to make amends with Velvet for the way she'd been treated by the same bully (and when Blake had quietly, deliberately ignored the plight of a fellow Faunus), and then thought again to him apologizing to Blake herself for when Nora accidentally knocked her off a cliff during initiation…

So many thoughts of Jaune. Why?

Because he was right next to her, surely. Because of this unusual circumstance that brought them together.

Blake set another notebook beside her own. While she'd initially planned to use this as a disguise, to bury her own belongings amid a crowd of strangers, she found herself opening it again. Peering over her notes to the back of Jaune's scraggly blonde head, Blake observed he didn't look quite so different from Sun from the back.

Then Yang poked her head over Blake's shoulder and loudly inquired: "Wait, is that Sun?!"

Blake wished for a quick death.

* * *

 _The Storehouse_

Neo had been carefully hidden from the others, using her tricks to conceal herself from even the enhanced senses of the White Fang. Roman asked her to keep an eye on things when their benefactor dropped by, and Neo was eager to see the woman who'd managed to convince Roman into this massive undertaking. Roman was on the ground floor, keeping one eye on the Faunus and one other on the various shipping containers they now had full of the stuff.

From her vantage point, she had a good view of the floor. She immediately spotted the two people out of place: the green-haired girl with dark skin and the silver-haired boy with some sort of strong metal in his legs, given the sound of his footsteps.

"Oh look, she sent the kids again," she heard Roman muse. "This is turning out just like the divorce."

"Ugh," the girl uttered from somewhere under his glove. "Spare us the thought of you procreating."

Neo hated the girl immediately. The silver-haired boy was a bit more subdued, but also snarky without the wit and timing Roman had to offer. Neo was sure they had reason to be confident, but they couldn't hope to match Roman.

The discussion turned heated, and Roman remarked: "Listen, you little punk- if it were up to me, I'd take you and your little street rat friend here and I would-"

"Do _what_ , Roman?"

Such a cold voice. It wasn't often something struck Neo with its force, but that voice brought the room down a few degrees with just three words.

Neo heard the sound of clinking glass and then the elevator descending from the second floor.

It wasn't often Roman Torchwick was scared of anything. Yet he was uncharacteristically timid when he nervously replied: "I'd... uh... _not_ kill them?"

"Cinder!" the girl remarked.

So their mistress had a name. Neo carefully positioned herself. She wanted to see this force of nature that could cow Roman. It meant leaving herself partially exposed and easier to detect, but she was determined to see this 'Cinder' for herself.

The force of nature had some legs, and her every footstep sounded like glass striking the metal floor. "I thought I made it clear you were to eliminate the would-be runaway?"

"I was _going_ to..." Roman tried to placate her.

" _He_ was going to escape to Vacuo!" the green-haired girl accused. Unfortunately, this Cinder cut her little spiel short and reined her in too. If Cinder cowed Roman, she _terrified_ the two subordinates she'd sent ahead of her arrival.

Roman then went into a big spiel about being busy stealing Dust, pointing at the innumerable shipping crates he'd collected. Neo had to admit she enjoyed watching him flail about.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother," Roman suggested.

Cinder stepped a little closer. "Oh, Roman, have a little faith..." Her voice was much warmer now, with just a little bit of tease to it. She sauntered over to Roman, pulling up her right hand on his cheek. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it."

She spoke in a coo, and seeing her hand pressed to Roman's face, seeing him look at her pretty amber eyes and lustrous raven hair...

It wasn't often anyone put Roman off-balance. And a woman touching his cheek... for some reason Neo hated that more than the way she bossed him around. Their eyes met for a long moment, and Neo felt herself getting madder and madder the longer Roman looked at this beautiful woman.

Then her faith was restored when he scoffed and looked away. Apparently her charms hadn't won him over, at least not completely. And if he'd been tempted by her before, now he was only confused when she announced they were 'done with Dust' and proceeding to 'phase two.' This ran quite contrary to what Roman had told Neo about the plan; she was expecting them to fence the Dust for a huge payday and then move on, not stockpile it for… whatever new mission Cinder would now have Roman undertaking.

When she and her cronies finally left (and one of them stole Roman's lighter), Roman discreetly moved over to Neo. He knew not to make her wait without an explanation. He knew she'd spent too long in the dark.

"I never meant to keep it a secret," Roman admitted, bitterly shaking his head, the unlit cigar still uselessly poking out of his mouth. "I knew she had something big in the works, but I didn't think we'd be sticking around to see it through."

That wasn't enough and he knew it. Neo only waited, not revealing herself, not allowing him to get any sense for her thoughts until he'd given a more satisfactory answer.

"Look, kiddo, she's a lot tougher than she looks," Roman explained. "She's out of our league."

Neo conceded she had to have something impressive to cow Roman. But did he really think this woman was so powerful they couldn't just escape out from under her thumb? Did Roman really fear her so much to keep playing along even after she'd violated the terms of their deal?

"It's not just us and the White Fang," Roman added. "There's something really big planned. Something that's really gonna put a hurt on Vale. Cinder's been telling me about this tech Atlas is working on and about a tunnel that leads to Mountain Glenn and all the other weird stuff they were up to over there… and she's crazy. She's not looking to make a buck, she's looking to make a _change_."

Roman wasn't a believer in such things. When he mused on it to Neo, he sounded bitter about what lay ahead. This wasn't an opportunity for gain, but a necessary action made in the name of self-preservation. He didn't need to say it in so many words. His tone –his honestly that only Neo ever got to hear- conveyed it all.

"There's no need to watch the score anymore kid; the Faunus are taking it all," Roman mused. "Go home and get some rest. I'll clean up things here."

Neo really didn't want to leave him alone, but she knew he was right to send her away before one of the White Fang found her hiding spot. Some of them knew about her, but the only two who'd ever seen her were somewhere at the bottom of the harbor. Better Roman keep his sole remaining advantage close to the chest, at least for now.

"I'll be there soon," Roman promised. "Watch yourself out there."

She had a little time before he'd return to her. That gave Neo an opportunity to look around.

And see if she could –if nothing else- learn where their benefactor slept. If only to file away.

For future reference.

* * *

 _Beacon_

The sun was setting on campus. RWBY had a full day of activities planned that was only _slightly_ hindered by their food fight and cleaning duty. JNPR had a quieter day in mind, but their dinner plans had been marred somewhat by the dining hall closing early, before Jaune and Pyrrha had finished their sparring session. Left with the possibility of a hungry Nora, Ren placated her with what he could find in the pantry while Jaune headed into the city to restock before they had to abide by curfew again. This left Pyrrha alone in the dorm room, thinking on the day's events.

And Blake.

It was a silly thought, that Jaune had eyes for her. He was plainly interested in Weiss, and had mentioned being embarrassed at being removed from the fight before he could show off some cool move he'd come up with to impress her. That should've been where her jealousy was focused, but instead her thoughts were for that moment when Jaune had returned to help Blake in organizing the students' belongings.

Jaune had made an incredible effort in trying to reach Blake the night she'd gone missing. Pyrrha recalled fearing for his welfare when she saw him soaking wet, privately angry at Blake for prompting him to take such a risk at all. Now she felt the same quiet, simmering anger at the sight of Blake so close to Jaune today, and Pyrrha really wished she wasn't feeling that way. But she had little else to think on. Jaune was away, and when he wasn't nearby, Jaune was all Pyrrha thought of.

She'd tried not to reach this state –fought and fought against it- but there was no denying how she felt now. What had started as mere kindness -a sort of desire to nurture and aid her teammates in whatever capacity she could- had become particularly focused with Jaune. It wasn't friendship that motivated her to keep him around her now, much as Pyrrha had pretended it to be such… much as she _still_ pretended it was, no matter how she tried to subtly imply her feelings to him without ever being too blatant about them.

She didn't want to put such pressure on him, but now that Pyrrha clearly knew how she felt she was having trouble processing those feelings. She was doing what she could not to be bothered by Jaune getting attention from all their female friends, but unfortunately they were all beautiful girls (in one way or another) and Pyrrha's brain kept construing the worst possible motivations for his acts of kindness.

She knew that wasn't his intention, not even with Weiss. He wasn't being kind just to impress them, he wasn't playing with anyone's feelings for his own self-gratification, and he wasn't motivated by anything more complicated than a genuine desire to help.

He was all too rare. Perhaps that was why Pyrrha now found herself so deeply…

She couldn't even _think_ the words. How could she possibly say them to him when she couldn't even bring herself to think them?

There was more to life at Beacon than Jaune Arc. There were other friends she cared for, whom she could focus at least _some_ of her thoughts on. She knew it wasn't healthy to think only of Jaune, not when there were others important to her, and more goals in her life than just convincing her partner she wished more of him than he'd realized.

Another day, a better time… all she needed was the right moment, and maybe she could finally express herself and this troublesome jealousy would go away.

* * *

 _Vale_

Neo had no luck finding her quarry; apparently Cinder and her subordinates were better at covering their tracks than their bold entrance had indicated. Neo expanded her search outside the docks and into downtown, growing increasingly frustrated as her search bore no fruit.

These people were screwing up Roman's plans, and thus Neo's as well. She wanted to see what plans of _theirs_ Neo might eventually be able to meddle in, so long as she remained an unknown element who could complicate things for them. And if she was very lucky, she might ascertain what _other_ promises this Cinder had made to Roman that she might eventually break.

But she found no sign of them, and eventually Neo's tracking turned to aimless wandering, moving about the city and searching for anything out of the ordinary. Roman promised he'd be home eventually, but Neo doubted he'd remove all the Dust before midnight at the earliest.

So she scoured around, moving away from the shady fronts and towards the legitimate businesses, passing by a bunch of different people, always keeping her head pointed to the ground, always keeping one eye concealed by her hair so no one would notice.

As a result of only looking around in sidelong glances, she marched straight into _another_ person who wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, holding a few bags of groceries in one hand and staring at directions on a Scroll in the other. Neither were walking very fast, and when Neo crashed into him, her head embedded in his chest. She barely moved his tall frame, but he nearly knocked her over, and he reached out to catch her, willfully abandoning his bags of food and letting them crash into the pavement.

Neo felt a hand grasping her arm to steady her. She wasn't used to such an act and prepared to unsheathe the blade in her umbrella, before she looked up and met those familiar blue eyes… blue eyes that did not waver when looking upon Neo's own.

"You!" the blonde boy realized. "Wow, I haven't seen you since that thing at the docks…" He smiled at her, apparently unbothered by all the food he'd lost in reaching out to catch her. "I'm glad you're okay."

Neo remembered taking hold of his hand… his grip around her arm now was just as firm, though only for a moment, as he immediately released her and drew back. Not to flee from her… just not to squeeze her so tight.

Not the lead Neo had been intending to find, but one she was eager to follow up on just the same. She inclined her head ever so slightly, lowering her umbrella as she returned his smile… and not with her usual arrogant smirk, but a quiet upturn of her lips.

He lowered his head slightly to address her, still holding her gaze in a way so few could. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you before… what's your name?"

Only one person in Vale knew her name. At least until tonight.

Neo was surprisingly slow to respond as she reached for her Scroll. She felt as timid as she had when she'd finally told Roman who she was.

She typed in three letters and held up her Scroll. The blonde read it. "Neo?" When she nodded, he extended his hand again. "I'm Jaune Arc."

Neo looked down at his extended hand. Just as it had been when he helped her to her feet, Neo hesitated to take what was freely offered. She was so unused to anyone showing her kindness she wasn't immediately sure how to react.

And when she placed her hand in his and he wrapped his fingers over hers', Neo once again found it quite difficult to let go.


	3. Save the Girl

**Chapter Three: Save the Girl**

* * *

Communication was a problem at first, but only at first. Neo was well versed in non-verbal cues, gesturing with her hands to demonstrate either assent or disagreement. After Neo helped him collect what food he'd dropped –at least what could still be recovered- she conveyed her apology with only her eyes, and it made her quite happy to see he inferred her meaning. Jaune Arc wasn't the sharpest man she'd ever met, but he understood how to phrase questions so Neo could answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. Neo wasn't sure whether or not Jaune knew she was mute or he thought she was shy or playing coy with him, but he was surprisingly patient with her.

Apparently he'd been out gathering food for his teammates at Beacon, and Neo gained her first crucial piece of information: he could be useful to her in helping Roman find the kids who'd screwed up their robbery. And given he didn't seem to mind talking and constantly answering more than was actually asked (possibly trying to compensate for Neo's silence) Neo thought it only a matter of time until he told her something pertinent.

Still, she wanted to get a better sense of him and had to reel him in slowly and not force the issue –such as she could- and latched onto his arm. A teenage boy would be easy to get information from when there was a pretty girl clinging to him… and it allowed Neo to indulge in her own instincts to grasp onto something, as had been long denied while Roman concealed her existence from his benefactor. She got a better feel for this blonde boy, and he got a pretty damsel expressing gratitude for saving her from the evil terrorists.

Yet to Neo's surprise, Jaune Arc didn't break down into a stuttering mess of hormones when she took hold of him: he returned her affection but in a very tempered, very measured way. Other than a pat to her shoulder, he allowed her to cling to his arm but didn't try to embrace her. Normally a coy smile from Neo turned boys –even boys who should've known better, like those in her line of work- to her playthings. At least until they looked in her eyes.

 _That_ was something Neo wanted to ask about, but wasn't sure how to broach the subject. Worse, it'd be a complex and multifaceted question, which would be awkward to type out on a Scroll and have him read. She'd have to try another way to bring it out, to make it seem like she was avoiding the subject without being _too_ coy or mercurial to him.

So Neo started to avert his gaze sporadically, looking away whenever he'd look down to talk to her. Jaune was still on the same tangent about his friends (apparently the one called Nora had some extreme dietary needs) and hadn't yet picked up on the subtle cues Neo was sending up to him… like she thought, not the sharpest.

But eventually Jaune _did_ notice the effort Neo was going to in avoiding his gaze. He actually dropped down to one knee, still almost as tall as her, and undoubtedly leaving his arm uncomfortably scrunched up in Neo's grip. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Finally he noticed, but hadn't noticed the important part. So Neo slowly turned to look at him before averting her eyes again, hoping he'd get the hint. He didn't, just continuing to stare at the side of her head, still on a single knee. Others wandering the streets of Vale were no doubt wondering what was going on; maybe wondering if he and Neo were having some sort of quarrel. It wasn't attention Neo wanted to draw to herself, at least while she remained in the dark on Cinder's location.

So Neo reluctantly removed herself from Jaune's arm, but before he got the wrong idea about her sudden extraction, Neo rapidly typed in a message on her Scroll, trying to summarize her thoughts: both to quickly show him the message and avoid being too blatant in asking what she needed to ask.

 _You don't find it hard to look at me?_

Neo again avoided his gaze, much as she desperately wanted to look back at him and know that he made eye contact when he addressed her. She had to play her part a while longer… even as she cursed herself for doing nothing more than indulging her own curiosity rather than gaining any of the intel Roman would need.

But it was only a single question, and an important one.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Jaune's lips curl up into a small smile. He reached his now free hand to her chin and very gently prodded her back… but not entirely. He invited her to complete the rotation herself.

Neo suppressed the urge to complete her motion and pointed her eyes to the ground, before timidly looking up at him again, hoping she wasn't looking too eager when she found his blue irises again.

Jaune reached his hand to Neo's left eye, tapping her cheek below it with his index finger. "Two of my sisters have brown eyes like you," Jaune explained, before pulling his finger up to tap his own cheek beneath his right eye. "And one of them has a blue eye too, just like me. It always made her self-conscious, so we did our best to always look at her when she spoke, because so many other people wouldn't. They thought it was strange, or off-putting… but it was just another thing that made her special. She wasn't any less my sister because she was a little different from us. And your eyes will always be your eyes; you shouldn't have to feel bad about any part of yourself just because that's how other people feel."

It was a simple lens, but that suited Neo fine. Roman had no trouble looking her in the eye because he wasn't afraid of anything; certainly not a starving street urchin with an umbrella. Jaune had seen it before in someone he loved, and thus built up a tolerance. And he'd mentioned two sisters, so perhaps he was better equipped to dodge female attention than most of the boys in Vale thanks to the exposure… either that or Neo's criminal associates had less self-control than a teenager, which was also possible.

Jaune Arc… full of surprises. And truly, such eyes.

Jaune glanced briefly past Neo to her still extended Scroll, his eyes going wide. "Oh man, is that the time?! I told my friends I'd be back twenty minutes ago…" He frantically moved to collect his bags and what food he'd recovered. Neo was enjoying watching him frantically scatter about, but didn't want to lose her chance to gain any more insight on him.

She was surprised at how slowly she typed her next message. It wasn't often she hesitated –at least, genuinely hesitated, rather than put on an act- but here she was, fumbling like the shy girl she was pretending to be. Here she was feeling her heart race just because she'd typed in a few words and asked a question.

 _Can I have your number?_

It was a strange thing to ask. Mostly because she'd never asked it before.

It must've seemed odd to Jaune too, like all the other things Neo had done since catching up with him, trying to gauge his reactions and measure his interest. Instead, Neo's tricks hadn't ensnared him. He'd once again trapped her with his pretty eyes and a few kind words.

Jaune frantically reached for his Scroll and pressed it to Neo's, adding his information, bringing Neo's total number of contacts to two. He detached it and frantically gathered his groceries together. "I'll text you some time after classes this week!" he promised, before comically dashing away in the general direction of the bullhead landing pads. Neo hoped his sense of direction had improved since he'd ended up on the wrong side of a harbor.

It was the first time she could recall wishing anyone –other than Roman- well. It was the first time she'd hoped someone would find good fortune, at least fortune that wouldn't benefit Neo herself.

Neo looked down at the tiny avatar of Jaune Arc now added to her list of contacts. With her face imposed over the surface of the screen, Neo blinked and turned her right eye blue like Jaune's. For a long time she just stared at his tiny picture and his name.

Then Neo frantically shook her head and turned her eye pink again. She knew this boy had a strange effect on her, but she honestly hadn't expected it to stick around once he was gone.

This wasn't a feeling she understood, and it frightened her a little bit. Intrigued as she'd been by Jaune, she hadn't anticipated thoughts like these, or actions outside her direct control. What on Remnant had come over her?

The bond she had with Roman was a strange feeling at first too. It took her time to accept the possibility there was someone she could trust. Just as it also took her time to accept the possibility there was someone she could _like_.

Jaune Arc…

* * *

 _Beacon_

Pyrrha wasn't sure why Jaune was so late, but she was grateful to have him back. A hungry Nora was difficult for even Ren to contain, and she'd only stayed pacified because of a generous offering of snacks from Team RWBY. When Jaune did finally return, Ren immediately took the ingredients to the kitchen to prepare a meal, Nora suggesting a variety of possibilities; less with her usual breathless enthusiasm and more with quiet menace. Pyrrha suspected Ren would have to prepare a great many different dishes to appease Nora's monstrous appetite.

That'd do fine. That left her and Jaune some time to themselves before Ren invited them to eat, assuming Nora's wrath spared any plates. Pyrrha looked him over as he settled in, pulling armor plates off his hoodie and…

…and since when did his right sleeve have pink strands on the black fabric? The Pumpkin Pete logo was kind of a light tan…

Did he know someone with pink hair? Professor Peach, maybe, but even if Jaune had run into her while out on his errands, why would her hair find its way onto his arm? Or maybe it wasn't hair and Jaune had found a cotton candy vendor and _that_ was why he was late? No, that latter thought didn't stack. It was hair; it was a _girl_ 's hair, even though Pyrrha had no evidence to support that conclusion. It was a maddening thought, but somehow it was also what she _wanted_ to think.

Pyrrha composed herself, tempering her words when she asked: "Why were you so late getting back?"

Too accusatory. She sounded like a fussy mother. Not at all how she wanted Jaune to think of her…

"I ran into that girl the White Fang was messing with," Jaune happily explained. "The one I met the night we all found Blake at the docks, remember?"

What should've been an interesting factoid irritated Pyrrha on multiple levels. Jaune reminded her of the paranoid apprehension she felt towards Blake _and_ apparently was distracted by some _other_ girl Pyrrha knew nothing about. In attempting to put her mind at ease, Jaune had inadvertently loosed some of Pyrrha's very worst behaviors.

She had to continue carefully, so as not to be too invasive. But if she didn't satisfy her curiosity now Pyrrha would lay awake all night thinking about Jaune and the girl he'd met in Vale; the damsel he'd rescued from the White Fang and then run into again and reconnected with. There were far too many possibilities at work there, and Pyrrha had to eliminate at least a few of them. "Oh, yes. I'm sorry but I don't remember much about her… I was more worried about you after the police pulled you out of the water," just a little reminder that she liked him first, "how is she?"

"Oh, man, you wouldn't believe how shy she is," Jaune answered, still seeming quite keen on this girl… and seeming quite oblivious to Pyrrha's own thoughts on the matter. "She really isn't very talkative, so when she wanted to let me know something she'd grab onto my arm."

Pyrrha felt her eye involuntarily twitch. Well that explained the hair on his sleeve, but somehow that didn't set her mind at ease. "I thought she was shy," Pyrrha dryly noted, and briefly mused on whether she was trying to poke a hole in his story, trying to catch him in a lie. He wasn't very good at it, but every now and then he'd try.

"She has different colored eyes," Jaune went on. "So it's really hard for people to look at her. My sister has the same thing; do you remember me telling you?"

Of course she did. Jaune may have mentioned it in passing, but Pyrrha hung on his every word when he told her about his time before Beacon. She just liked listening to him talk, and particularly liked listening to him talk to her… and only to her.

Here she was again, being petty towards a girl she didn't know and had never seen and… why? Because she was grateful Jaune had helped her when she was in danger? Because Jaune helped her with a problem she had no control over? Was Pyrrha really so possessive?

No, of course not. Jaune was interested in Weiss and Pyrrha hadn't done anything to discourage that. But then, maybe she was willing to tolerate that because of how uniformly _unsuccessful_ he'd been…

She hadn't read as many stories as Ruby, but Pyrrha read more than one where romance began after the hero swooped in and saved the girl. Like Jaune had with this girl in Vale. Like he'd attempted to do with Blake.

But then, Blake hadn't actually shown much interest beyond a bit of gratitude for Jaune's kindness. Pyrrha really was reading into it more than she should, but then… she'd fallen for Jaune. Surely it wasn't such a stretch that other girls might do the same after he made such efforts to help them. To _save_ them.

Not many storybook romances began with the girl saving the guy, but Pyrrha had been there to save Jaune when he was in danger, and very much wanted their story to be an exception.

* * *

 _The Following Day, After Class_

Some of Ruby's 'Best Day Ever' activities ended up spilling into the following day. As a result, while JNPR attempted to study, the members of Team RWBY were locked in a vicious battle to decide the fate of Remnant. Ruby challenged her older sister by launching the massive Atlesian air fleet, but Yang would not be caught unaware, deploying a trap… albeit a trap consisting of a desperate gamble. Yang countered Ruby's air superiority by unleashing a giant Nevermore, a strategy that could be detrimental to her own war effort; as the Grimm had no loyalty to Mistral and could easily turn on the troops deploying it. But Yang's trap achieved the desired result, and Ruby's invasion force was broken. Then Weiss went through a brief fit of megalomania as she plotted the destruction of her rivals in surprisingly vivid detail (and Blake wondered just how much she'd inherited from her tyrannical father) only for Yang to play another of her traps and lay waste to the armies of Vacuo too.

Sounded like an epic battle… that Blake really, _really_ couldn't bring herself to care about. She was trying to be optimistic about all of Ruby's team activities, but today she just really wasn't in the mood. Which was probably why when Yang invited Blake to take her turn she completely forgot what she was doing… and even which kingdom she was playing as. She frantically tried to think of what to say, shuffling through the cards in her hand and glancing at the board full of scattered armies and vulnerable kingdoms…

"Hey, can I play?"

When Jaune Arc wandered over and immediately drew attention away from Blake. Ruby diplomatically explained they already had four players, only for Weiss to subtly insult Jaune about the game requiring 'tactical cunning' and Yang reminded Weiss of her own blunders, knocking the heiress down yet another peg. Jaune was undeterred, however… "Bring it on, ice queen! I'll have you know that I've been told that I'm a natural born leader!"

"By who?" Weiss incredulously inquired. "Your mother?"

" _And_ Pyrrha!" Jaune helpfully added.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha awkwardly waved from the JNPR study session nearby. She smiled pleasantly at the next table over, but when her eyes met Blake's, Pyrrha immediately looked back down into her textbook.

Or maybe Blake was just seeing things. Her eyes were only half-focused… and surely Pyrrha wasn't paying Blake any special attention over her teammates.

But then again, Pyrrha _had_ glared daggers at Blake just yesterday when Jaune helped Blake with the cleanup, so… maybe…

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" Weiss protested Jaune's request he try playing on her behalf.

"Why not? You've trusted me with way more important stuff before!" Jaune argued. "I mean, you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fau-"

Pyrrha dashed over so fast she'd give Ruby a run for her money. She planted her hand over Jaune's mouth and interjected: "Fun-loving person whom we all admire and respect!"

Pyrrha smiled awkwardly down at Blake, who was only too happy to return the glare Pyrrha had sent her way the prior day. Really, she should've focused her anger on _Weiss_ for letting that detail slip, but that wasn't where her eyes ended up.

Jaune awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and tried to cover. "Right. _That_."

Blake doubted anyone else could hear them, but she was glad he'd taken the precaution. Albeit _after_ he'd nearly blundered something still being kept secret from most of Beacon, and not something she'd actually meant to tell Team JNPR yet. Jaune graciously excused himself from their battle, even stopping to take a little bow.

Blake was so distracted watching the top of Jaune's head she hadn't even heard the arrival of two others to their corner of the library. "Sup, losers?"

Blake was actually quite pleased to see Sun, but was a bit too withdrawn at the moment to properly convey it, and had also intentionally muted herself to try and conceal any surprise; to pretend she'd known the two were coming all along. She was then introduced to Sun's friend Neptune, who immediately made a play for Weiss, which left Jaune stunned in the background. Apparently he hadn't forgotten that little crush yet.

And for some reason, that irritated Blake further. "I never took you as the board game playing type!" Sun observed over her shoulder, again catching her off guard with his presence.

She was sure Sun was trying to learn something about her, but right now she wasn't in the mood to humor him. "Right… well I think I'm done playing, actually." She got up, discarding her hand on the table. "I'll see you guys later."

She wondered what the others thought, but only briefly. Right now she needed to process some of the thoughts she was having… needed some time alone without prying eyes and unexpected arrivals.

The dorm was quiet and she could be alone with her thoughts, and kept returning to the same one. Something about Jaune's recent actions had intrigued her, and Blake's interest had not gone unnoticed by Pyrrha. But at the same time, she was also genuinely interested in Sun, who'd _also_ shown her kindness and reached out, only for her to now blow him off. She had two sets of very confusing feelings clashing against each other, and she'd really prefer not to have either thought clouding her mind right now.

And then, of course, there was still the unresolved matter of Torchwick and the White Fang. She and her friends had put a stop to their Dust robbery, but Torchwick escaped justice, and his robberies continued in the ensuing semester break, with more and more news reports about White Fang activity in Vale. Big things were in motion, and Blake desperately wanted to know why her former faction was working alongside a vicious criminal and causing so much needless suffering.

And maybe Blake could do something about it, and here she was thinking about boys and their jealous female teammates…

Maybe she could take her mind off the latter by devoting attention to the former. Maybe if she could just talk to her teammates about this…

* * *

 _Friday_

Neo was becoming increasingly worried about Roman. He was working one long night after another overseeing the White Fang ship out all the Dust they'd spent so much time collecting, all for a pittance of Lien cards. Neo would occasionally go out to the storehouse in disguise to oversee events (and Roman) but nothing eventful happened. Her search for Cinder and her cronies was a bust too; she'd managed to track an inn they'd been staying at, but they'd checked out after a single night and gone elsewhere. Neo's only lead on Cinder was gone, and she was in the wind again. The influx of students and visitors from foreign kingdoms coming into town for the Vytal Festival was only making that task harder, and every inn and hotel had a sudden influx of new guests and bigger and bigger crowds for Neo to sort through.

And her lead on the Beacon kids hadn't produced any new info either, as Jaune hadn't contacted her since their meeting Sunday night. Worse even than no info to help Roman find his enemies, her new friend hadn't contacted her for five days. Was he wary of her because of her odd behavior the second time –and even the first time- they'd met? Had he only given Neo his contact info out of pity? She really wanted for one of her current priorities to yield some information, but they'd both proven a bust.

Roman finally returned to the apartment in the dead of night, and slept late into the afternoon. When he woke and emerged from his room to greet Neo, he was actually more upbeat than she expected of him. "Hey, kid. Plans are changing."

That was a promising sign, because the way things had been going hadn't done Roman's health any favors. Neo eagerly listened in. "There's gonna be a White Fang rally tonight, and we're showing off the fancy new tech Cinder snagged from Atlas. Should get ourselves a bunch of new cannon fodder for whatever the boss has in the works for Mountain Glenn."

This was the first Neo had heard of Mountain Glenn. Roman _really_ needed to do a better job keeping her in the loop, but she indulged him as he went on. "But there is a downside. Cinder put me in touch with the White Fang leader: red-haired loon named Adam Taurus. He's sending his lieutenant down to oversee the rally; thinks it'll add some legitimacy."

It sounded to Neo like Roman was putting his head in the noose again, being surrounded by a group that had already tried to betray him once before. Neo tugged on his arm and glared at him.

Roman knew that look. "Kid, I told you, I don't want Cinder to find out-"

Neo clamped her grip tight. She wasn't going to lose track of him this time. _This_ time she was going to be right there with him.

Roman resisted for a very long time, but eventually he relented. "Okay. Okay, but you don't start anything, okay Neo? No fighting, no Semblance, no nothing. _If_ Cinder finds out about you, I don't want her to know what tricks you've got up your sleeve. We lose the element of surprise there… I'll be honest, kiddo, without you, we lose all our leverage."

Neo understood his trepidation, but he'd denied her too often. She wasn't going to risk anything happening to him again while she was away. Even if it meant stepping out into the light and joining him in a den of wolves.

For Roman, she'd take that risk.

Roman reached to the back of her head and then leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers'. Neo eagerly accepted this bit of affection, reaching her hand to the back of Roman's neck and pulling him in a little tighter.

Roman finally broke the embrace and stretched. "I'm gonna get cleaned up. You should get something to eat; don't know how long this rally thing's gonna go."

Neo nodded as Roman headed off, before heading to the kitchen in search of ice cream. While pondering which of her three favorite flavors should be eaten in which order, her Scroll beeped at her.

Only one person had that number.

No. Two.

Neo dashed over to read the message: _Hey, sorry it took me so long to get back to you. My friends are off doing their own thing tonight and I'm free. Wanna hang out, or meet up, or something?_

She really shouldn't. She'd _just_ insisted on joining Roman for the rally, and now of all times Jaune finally got back to her? He had the worst timing.

But then, if she refused now… if she didn't take this chance, maybe he really would conclude she wasn't worth all the trouble he'd already gone to.

 _I have a thing later tonight, but I'm free right now._

Not entirely. But maybe, a tiny bit of stolen time before she tended to business… maybe that would do her good.

 _Sure, now's good. Where do you want to meet up?_

Neo had been thinking ice cream. She wondered how she'd fare dining for two.

 _I know just the place._

It wouldn't help Roman, but it'd do Neo a world of good. And if the day went well, she could share some kindness with both of the names in her Scroll.


	4. Kindness

**Chapter Four: Kindness**

* * *

Team RWBY had decided to take the weekend for some team bonding, heading out on the town. JNPR (more specifically Nora) hadn't invited themselves along, with Ren suggesting they find time for their own vocations. While Ren might've intended to stay at Beacon for the weekend and meditate or read or train, Nora nonetheless insisted on dragging him outside. Pyrrha left the two to their own devices, as she'd often felt like a third wheel when spending time alongside them during the brief period of Jaune's absence when he was being bullied by Cardin. It also gave her the necessary excuse to spend some time alone with her partner, without the onus of training to eat up all their time together.

Jaune had been feeling down after his umpteenth attempt to woo Weiss blew up in his face. For a long time he just lay in bed playing with his Scroll while Pyrrha pretended to read at her desk. She thought of various activities they might engage in together: a trip into the city themselves, perhaps? Or maybe a trip to the lounge to watch a movie? Even studying sounded appealing so long as it was time alone with Jaune, but Port hadn't finished his bombastic tale in time to assign them homework. Pyrrha never thought she'd curse being caught up.

At this stage, it shouldn't have been so difficult to ask. Jaune never had any trouble talking to _her_ , and yet Pyrrha constantly flubbed everything she tried to tell her partner, intentionally bottling many of her thoughts so as not to overplay her feelings in a way that might make him uncomfortable. She was used to being polite and formal and keeping even friends at an arm's length, and in many ways she was _still_ doing that –even to those close to her like Ren and Nora- but Jaune didn't keep anyone at a distance. And happy as it made Pyrrha that he treated her so informally and without the need to trip over himself in the presence of 'the invincible girl', the problem Pyrrha had was he treated _everyone_ this way. On the one hand, it was wonderful to have someone like her for her and not just the public persona the world knew. On the other, it meant Pyrrha was (or at least Jaune perceived her to be) the same as everyone else.

Pyrrha wanted friendships and bonds that were normal, not dictated by the extraordinary circumstances of her talent or her chosen profession. But from Jaune… Jaune was special to _her_ and thus Pyrrha wanted to be special to _him_. Unhealthy though it may have been to measure her self-worth by another person's opinion, Pyrrha couldn't deny that Jaune's opinion of her mattered a great deal. She was happy to be his friend, but the longer she remained so, the more distant seemed the prospect of ever being more than that.

And now other girls were taking notice of him. It was fortunate Jaune was so head-over-heels for Weiss, or he might recognize that subtle moment when an eye followed him or a head turned ever so slightly… movements Pyrrha had started to become very practiced at observing.

And it really did vex her to feel any animosity towards Jaune's friends, some of whom were –at least theoretically- Pyrrha's friends too. It was petty, it was unbecoming, it was childish. But what was she supposed to feel? Happiness? Acceptance? Those were logical conclusions to draw: to be happy for her friend and accepting of his feelings. But she just couldn't give up on him. He was the only person in the world she felt this way about. How was she to know she'd ever recapture that feeling? And even if she could, did Pyrrha ever want to feel the same about someone else if it meant Jaune Arc would never fill that role?

Pyrrha had been so deep in thought that she barely noticed Jaune climb out of bed and look for his coat. Pyrrha tried not to be too quick –or too awkward- in asking him: "Are you going out?"

"I got in touch with my new friend, Neo," Jaune explained. "I asked her if she wanted to hang out for a bit and she suggested we get some food."

Pyrrha started screaming internally. She really hoped her face didn't convey it to Jaune. "That's great! Where are you going?"

"That little ice cream parlor in Vale over by the café," Jaune explained, pulling off his dress shirt and adorning himself in his hoodie instead. Pyrrha was momentarily distracted when Jaune pulled his shirt a little too far and exposed his back. This wasn't the first time, but it always reminded Pyrrha how much she enjoyed sharing a dorm with him.

And how she really did want to maintain the privilege of having Jaune around as much as possible. "How long will you be gone?" she asked, trying to very slowly reach the point of persuading him to invite her along.

"Oh, just an hour or two," Jaune assured her. "She's busy with something tonight so we're just going to have an early dinner and catch up."

Pyrrha composed herself. It'd be rude of her to press the matter. And agonizing as it was to picture Jaune having a meal with a girl (would that make it a date?) Pyrrha rationalized that he'd still be returning to her not long after, and could still make the most of what time they had available.

She hid every last trace of doubt behind a smile, albeit a relatively weak one. "Have fun."

Jaune gently gripped her shoulder for a moment and smiled back before heading out of the dorm, resuming his exchange of texts with this Neo girl. Pyrrha barely saw him depart, as her focus was –however briefly- on his touch and his warmth. How she coveted the feeling, even in the smallest of gestures.

She tried to be content with these little acts, but the affection was too small. Too... _detached_. If this was all Pyrrha would ever receive from him, she would eventually be more frustrated than grateful by his gestures of kindness and affection. And she never wanted to reach that state. She never wanted to be ungrateful for his friendship. She never wanted to be frustrated that friendship was all Jaune _could_ offer her.

So once again, she bit her tongue and waited… waited for him to finally see just how hard it was for her to smile.

* * *

Blake hadn't intended to have company in going to the rally. She was honestly quite looking forward to some alone time before things started up, to enjoy a few moments of blissful quiet before she gathered her intel. With Sun, there wasn't much opportunity for quiet. If he wasn't talking, it was only because he was patiently waiting for Blake to speak. And then Blake felt bad for making him wait on her and she responded with inelegant, half-formed thoughts. Sun didn't seem to mind, though he was also remarkably blunt with his every statement and never spared her feelings when she said something dumb.

Still, at least his efforts were entirely sincere. And while Blake strongly suspected that Sun might be… _interested_ in her, he wasn't pushing matters too hard. He was being kind and helpful, and she really couldn't begrudge him that, even if he might've eventually wanted to know if Blake returned any of that interest.

It was a strange thought to imagine liking someone that way. The last time Blake had played that part, she'd been a lot like Sun, eagerly trying to help and following after the object of her affection with unmatched devotion and loyalty. She looked up to him, admired him, and eventually loved him. What had started as a close friendship deepened into something more, and seeing Sun with the same aspiration reminded her of that feeling.

And Blake badly wished _not_ to be reminded. She tried not to find fault in Sun himself, because he wasn't forcing the issue to the forefront, just poking around the edges to see if there was anything more to Blake below the surface. He wasn't chasing after her, just along for the ride. Blake tried to characterize her feelings of discomfort as her own flaw, rather than any fault on Sun's part.

But she'd seen this play out before. Even if Sun was a better man than Adam –and she had no reason to think he wasn't- Blake had been fooled before. Her love was so powerful it blinded her to Adam's faults. Her love was so deep she'd chosen Adam over her own family. Her love was so great that it _still_ kept her up at nights, and she felt the weight of Adam's loneliness as well as her own.

So she was taking everything slower, not rushing headlong into it. Just because Jaune had been kind to her a few times-

Sun. _Sun_ had been kind to her. _Sun_ at the least was genuinely and sincerely interested in her, or at least Blake was _pretty_ sure of that. Jaune had asked Weiss out a few hours ago.

Maybe that was why his kindness was on her mind and not Sun's efforts. Because unlike Sun, Blake didn't think Jaune was interested in her. There was no other motive to his kindness. He was blunt and direct like Sun, but not motivated by any attraction or interest. And for some reason that appealed more to Blake than Sun's equally sincere efforts.

Maybe she was just so unused to kindness without expectation it could still startle her and dominate her thoughts. She'd gotten better about it after reconciling with Weiss and spending time with the rest of her teammates, but it still surprised Blake to witness others giving without any thought of compensation. Adam was still at the forefront of her mind, and she'd picked up some of his worst habits… including low expectations.

Sun snapped her from her thoughts to point out a pair of Faunus teenagers acting a bit sketchy and glancing around in all directions before disappearing down an alley. Blake nodded and discreetly moved to follow, taking the lead and keeping Sun and herself in obscuring shadows.

Back in her element. Back where silence would play a pivotal role.

* * *

Neo rarely struggled over deciding what to wear. She liked to wear white and brown, like Roman. But she'd also worn the same coat and slacks both prior times she'd met Jaune and wondered if he'd think she always wore the same clothes. She had multiple copies of the outfit, sure, but maybe she should try something more casual. Or more formal.

But Roman would be expecting her at the rally, and she had to convey to the White Fang she was on his side. So Neo resigned herself to her usual attire, hoping that Jaune would be too kind to remark or too dense to notice. Either would be endearing, coming from him.

She waited outside the parlor for nearly twenty minutes, arriving well ahead of time. Neo knew he was flying in from Beacon on a bullhead then making his way on foot, but she was still nervous with anticipation. And it wasn't often Neo felt nervous. She tried to convince herself it was only because she was on the clock, and trying to squeeze in a bit of personal time on a day when her attention needed to be elsewhere. She tried to assure herself it was because she had to be responsible later on, and not because she was concerned about what Jaune would think.

When he came into view he waved to her and smiled. Neo felt her heart lift a bit. In a way it didn't for anyone but Roman. Until now.

Neo wasn't sure how to react when he drew near. Was she supposed to shake his hand again? Or press against his arm as she had before?

Was she supposed to hug him? Did she know him well enough for that?

So many social graces were lost on her because of how small her social circle was. She knew a great many people, but before Jaune only had one friend, and after living with him for a time she'd eventually been able to show him such affection. Perhaps she could follow the same model with Jaune.

Almost immediately she quashed that idea. When Neo was taken in by Roman she spent weeks distrusting him, waiting for him to turn on her or reveal some more unsavory intention towards her. And when the vicious criminal turned out to be entirely genuine in his offer of friendship, she'd felt guilty for not realizing sooner that some people could simply be kind, even to her.

She very awkwardly returned his wave and smiled back, before inviting him inside to a table. Jaune was slow to make conversation, taking in the sight of the parlor. The silence made Neo uncomfortable, because it didn't suit Jaune at all to be quiet. He was so vibrant and energetic, and Neo had been eager to hear the sound of his voice.

Eventually, however, Jaune did speak again, filling Neo in about his first week back at Beacon. Apparently he'd been involved in some sort of epic battle at the start of the semester, where his contribution had consisted of being thrown into a wall and chucking a watermelon. Neo was quite curious about the context of all that, but for the moment she was content simply to listen. She was glad he was back to form.

Still, she had to eat something before business resumed in the evening. Neo's first instinct was to order a massive sundae, but for the first time she could recall reined in her hunger for ice cream and thought about what the man sharing her meal might think. Roman had seen Neo devour more than a gallon. Now she felt surprisingly timid about Jaune seeing her eat a few scoops.

She had to believe he wouldn't think any differently of her just because she could eat… he wasn't so shallow as to be offended by her appetite. Not if he could look her in the eye.

Neo compromised and ordered six scoops instead of a dozen. Jaune, apparently feeling the need to match her, ordered seven. Then he went to pay with a Lien card at the same time Neo did, albeit with much less of a cash limit on his'.

He was a poor student with no discernible source of income and he was still trying to pay for Neo's meal? She pressed her own card ahead, and Jaune simply told their server to take both. Neo wasn't sure if that was just pride or if he was making a compromise like she had. She'd have gladly paid for him… it was a pittance compared to what she and Roman would be raking in.

Still, it was a little annoyance, and more a point of miscommunication than anything else. Jaune didn't know what she did. And for the first time Neo didn't _want_ someone to know. She didn't want him to think she was dangerous. She didn't want Jaune to know she was a criminal.

She'd been honest before, but everyone else she knew was in the same line of work. They were all muddied by the same darkness she was.

Everyone but Jaune.

While they waited for their ice cream, Jaune resumed telling her tales of Beacon. And when he got to recounting Friday's events…

It didn't suit him to be quiet. It suited him even less to be sad. Seeing his eyes point to the surface of the table made Neo frown, entirely without her own input. Not looking him in the eye was difficult enough, yet somehow it seemed _harder_ to meet his eye when he wore such a look. His sadness made _Neo_ feel sad.

She typed into her Scroll and slid it over to him. _What's wrong?_

"There's… this girl in my year that I really like," Jaune explained. "I've been trying to let her know how I feel for a while. I even tried asking her out today. All she ever does is shoot me down."

Neo's misplaced sorrow was suddenly replaced by quiet, seething anger. There was some other girl who caught Jaune's eye?

And more importantly, she was his _second_ choice?

And to think a few moments ago she'd been appreciative of his honesty…

"I know it's really starting to bother her," Jaune continued, "and I don't ever want to upset her or screw up things between us, because her team's been friends with mine ever since we all started at Beacon together. But I really can't help it; she's just so…"

Neo really didn't want to hear him talk about another girl. But she _had_ to hear it now. She had to know what it was that ensnared him. If only so she could understand _some_ of what turned his eye away from her.

No doubt she was pretty. And in closer proximity to him than Neo was. And he'd known her longer. And that was just to start. Her mind raced with so many reasons he might be drawn away… why he might choose this other girl over her.

"She's kind of like you, actually," Jaune explained, managing to look at Neo again. "She's very graceful and elegant… and just a tiny bit taller," he added, regaining the faintest hint of a smile, "and so smart and so kind, even if it isn't really clear at first, because she takes a while to warm up to."

Well, it was encouraging that the object of his affection reminded him of Neo. That reassured her ever so slightly. Neo carefully concealed any distaste she may have had and wore an expression she hoped showed concern, rather than any jealousy towards this girl she didn't know.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to put this on you," Jaune went on. "I just feel like you're easy to talk to. Like maybe you understand, you know?"

Well, she couldn't help but be a good listener. But understanding? For this teenage crush?

Neo wondered what was wrong with this other girl to be so dismissive of Jaune's sincere affection. Was anyone truly so blind as to not see that this boy –dense as he may have been- was special? How many people, let alone teenage boys, were so honest and sincere?

"I'm glad I met you, Neo," Jaune added. "I probably never would've brought this up to my teammates… I'd have just let it eat at me all weekend."

He couldn't share his burden with anyone else. That Neo recognized. Roman had been the same at first, slow to put any of his responsibilities on her. Not because he didn't trust her, not because he was proud… because of what he wanted for her, and not himself.

Neo wouldn't wait on this one. She didn't want to make him wait because Neo hadn't been able to understand the efforts. She meant to learn from history. Neo dragged her chair closer to him, sitting adjacent to him rather than across. Before he could inquire, she leaned in close and pressed her head to his shoulder, wrapping herself around his arm.

During their last meeting, Jaune hadn't returned the affection shown him to Neo's satisfaction. This time, he did pull her in a little closer, reaching his free hand up to her shoulder and pulling her in. Maybe he'd just needed a reason to, even if it was so as not to feel so lonely. At least Neo understood that motivation.

The ice cream arrived, Neo's sundae looking lovely with its three flavors under its arrangement of fruit and nuts and syrup. Normally, she'd have pounced… but for a change she found it difficult to extricate herself from the arm she now clung to.

Jaune, however, seemed a bit more willing to break off, though he very pointedly ate from his mountain of scoops with only a single hand, moving gingerly so as not to disturb Neo on his other arm. Though boyish in the way he chased after dessert, he hadn't allowed his pursuit to bother her.

She heard Roman remind her: never believe, never trust, never hope. There had to be something about Jaune below the surface that would bother her. There had to be secrets he was keeping, maybe worse than the fact some other girl interested him.

Yet all Neo could think was how much she liked being there on his arm… and that she wanted to do so again.

But eventually she did manage to let go, and despite Jaune's head start, Neo made quick work of her meal. Jaune saw her rapid devouring and tried his best to keep pace. Adorable as it was, Jaune was out of his league, and he reluctantly conceded defeat with three scoops left… _after_ Neo deliberately held off on finishing the last bit of strawberry.

Normally people's failures irritated her. Instead Neo found herself appreciative of Jaune simply for _trying_. Normally Neo didn't care for people trying to challenge her, but instead she was glad to have a shared experience with him.

While Jaune lamented his defeat, Neo noticed a text from Roman on her Scroll, still pressed nearby. When she saw the time notification above the little Roman icon, Neo knew she'd pushed her luck too far. She'd known she'd have to wrap up quickly, but somewhere between Jaune sharing stories and Neo holding on to him their server apparently opted to give them time alone before dropping off dessert, and now Neo was overdue.

She reached over for her Scroll as discreetly as she could but once she held it in hand she couldn't think of what to tell Jaune. That she had to leave? What would he think if she left before he'd finished eating? Would he think her rude? Would he think she was mocking him for his failure?

Why was she even pondering any of this? Why did she wonder if Jaune would think less of her when she knew that _he_ knew Neo had another appointment? What had come over her?

Neo _did_ have to leave, however, and meekly slid her Scroll over to Jaune, carefully concealing the image of Roman. She was slow to write it out, but eventually she typed: _I'm sorry, but I_ \- and that was as far as she got before she stopped herself, paralyzed once more by indecision.

To her surprise, Jaune smiled at her. "You have to go, I remember. It's okay. Thanks for taking the time."

Why did he have to smile so much? It would've been so much easier for her to go if he hadn't. Neo tried to smile back, to match his intensity, but the best she could manage was a bit more akin to a smirk. A bit too coy.

"When will I see you again?" Jaune asked.

Neo's eyes raced back and forth as she thought. Part of her wanted to say 'tomorrow', or even 'whenever you can', but she managed to suppress that particular bout of madness. Instead Neo leaned down to type something non-committal, knowing Roman was waiting on her… and the best she could come up with was _'Soon.'_

Jaune nodded. "Okay. Text me when you can."

Neo headed for the exit, turning her back to him, if only briefly. Before she could take more than a single step she wondered how Jaune might take her response, or interpret her hesitation. She couldn't help but waffle like this, but Neo still wanted Jaune to _know_ he'd see her again. She didn't want him to think this meeting –whatever it was- had been a bust, or that he'd bored her or turned her away.

More than anything, she didn't want him to doubt.

Neo turned right back around. She leaned closer to him, and Jaune looked up and met her eye.

She had to be quick. Roman might need her. But she had time for one more indulgence.

Neo smiled as best she could. This time she managed to keep herself from being so smug. She wasn't sure how he'd take this, so her upturned lips were a bit more shy… a bit uncertain, but not enough to hold her back for long.

Neo found his cheek and kissed it.

A small affection. Not too committal, not too personal. _That_ at least was a social grace she understood. That it was more than a hug, more than a nuzzle… but less than a certainty. A sign of her interest without being too bold.

Jaune's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't seem upset. He just looked on, as Neo reverted to old habits, giving him a wink before dashing away.

* * *

Blake hadn't expected Torchwick to show up at the rally… she really expected it'd take a lot more digging to find him. And then he let slip there were big plans going on in the south, and then he revealed a stolen piece of Atlas tech. Things had already escalated, but when she and Sun were herded towards the stage with the rest of the new White Fang recruits, and Blake felt Torchwick's eyes on her…

She shot out the fusebox and turned out the lights in his warehouse. Then she and Sun led him out into Vale, calling for backup. Yang and Neptune joined in the fight, and Sun and Neptune were very abruptly thrown out of it after taking a bad hit from the Paladin Roman was piloting.

Still, when Team RWBY regrouped they managed to take the fight to Roman, eventually knocking him right out of the mech. Cornered and unarmed, Roman still faced them down, only complaining about the state of his suit once he'd picked himself off the ground.

Yang decided to shut him up with a burst from Ember Celica, only for a new fighter to enter the fray, allowing the heat to disperse along the surface of her umbrella. Though RWBY still had an enormous advantage, no one was eager to rush forward and see what this new player brought to the table.

"Ladies," Roman waved, " _Ice queen_." Weiss protested this, but Roman ignored her and turned his attention to his cohort. "Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would?"

'Neo' -as Torchwick called her- swept into a bow, casting a cocky smile their way. Yang finally broke ranks and rushed at the duo, taking a wild swing… and then watched both of them shatter to pieces.

An illusion? Blake searched frantically for them, before her ears picked up the sound of a roaring engine. Blake caught a brief glimpse of the two standing in the cargo bay of a bullhead racing up into the night sky.

"I guess he got a new henchman," Yang bitterly mused.

* * *

Neo expected Roman to be angry with her. She'd revealed her Semblance, at least in part. He'd been displeased she was late in joining him after insisting he allow her to participate, and surely he'd be upset she'd defied his orders, even if it had been to save his life.

Instead, once the cargo bay sealed shut and he no longer had to put on a show, Roman broke character, nearly falling into his seat. She immediately rushed over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. There wasn't anyone back there with them, but their pilot was White Fang. They couldn't show any weakness in front of a stranger.

"I'm sorry," Roman whispered, speaking very quietly, his voice so low even Neo could barely hear him. "This thing I've dragged us into…"

Neo shook her head. There'd be time for him to explain himself to her, but this wasn't the time. They had to keep up appearances in front of their 'allies'.

Roman met her eye and eventually nodded. He composed himself and pulled Neo into a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered. "For saving my life tonight."

Normally Neo lived for the feel of Roman's embrace. Him initiating the affection was so rare Neo coveted every moment of it when it did occur.

Yet now… now she was wondering if they were too deep to extricate themselves. If maybe there was a way out of this life.

She never thought she'd wish for that. Ever since she met Roman, Neo never thought she'd ever have reason to doubt her course. But now…

What were they even fighting for? A payday? Protection? Certainly not for the White Fang and their ideology…

Before tonight, she'd never thought Roman embracing her might make her feel afraid.

* * *

Jaune took a long and circuitous path back to the bullhead landing platforms. Apparently something had really bottled up traffic and there were a number of displaced cars that had fallen from the highway. And on his way towards said highway to see what had happened…

"Sun? Neptune?" Jaune inquired, recognizing a monkey tail sticking out of a ramen shop.

"Sup," Neptune greeted with his trademark inflection. "You hear about the fun?"

"What happened?" Jaune wondered, pointing at an upside down automobile crashed in the street nearby… hundreds of feet below the suspended highway.

"Oh, we found that Torchwick guy," Sun dismissively explained, still moving noodles about in his bowl. "Blake and the others were still fighting him when he knocked us off the bridge."

"Wait, what?!" Jaune immediately reached for his Scroll. "What happened? Are you sure they're okay?"

"They can take care of themselves," Neptune tried to reassure him, but to no avail. Jaune scrolled through his list of contacts, Blake Belladonna right near the top.

Her phone rang a few times before she answered. "Hello?"

"Blake, wow, I'm glad to hear from you!" Jaune breathlessly exclaimed. "I just heard what happened; are you guys okay?"

Again Blake was slow to reply, leaving Jaune with a maddening silent gap before she answered him. "Yes, Jaune, we're all okay. But Torchwick escaped again."

That was unfortunate, but far less important than the knowledge his friends were safe. Jaune finally breathed again. "Okay. I'm in Vale and near where you were fighting. You guys need anything?"

"I… think we're fine, Jaune," Blake replied, sounding quite distant. Jaune suspected she was simply trying to humor him now and he might've been bothering her.

His curiosity was satisfied. He had what he'd needed. "Okay, great. I'll… uh… yeah…" He then very awkwardly hung up.

"Smooth," Neptune observed.

"Hey, give him a break," Sun interjected. "Looks like our boy Jaune had an adventure of his own."

Jaune had been prepared to comment on Neptune's remark but was caught off guard by Sun's before he had a comeback ready. "What do you mean?"

Sun stood up from his bowl and tapped Jaune's cheek. "Make a new friend, ladykiller?"

* * *

Jaune was long overdue, and Pyrrha was pacing back and forth in the dorm, trying to burn off some of the nervous energy running through her. Team RWBY actually got back before Jaune, and Pyrrha had to summon considerable strength not to ask if they'd seen him. She was halfway through opening her door to welcome them back when she heard:

"What'd Torchwick say that girl's name was?" Ruby asked.

"Neo," Blake answered.

Pyrrha's hand tightened around the doorknob. Her grip was so firm she felt the metal pull through the wood and dislodge itself into her hand.

It wasn't possible. It was a coincidence. It was…

Just because Pyrrha wanted to believe it didn't mean it was true.

And if it had been… if Jaune was…

First priority was to find Jaune and make sure he was okay. _Then_ she'd worry about whether the new friend he'd met was-

Her Scroll started ringing. Pyrrha dove to answer it. "Jaune?"

"Sorry I'm so late, Pyr. I ran into Sun and Neptune on my way back," Jaune explained. "That Torchwick guy caused a real mess. Did Ruby and the others get back okay?"

Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, just a moment ago."

"Great!" Jaune sounded just as relieved as Pyrrha. "I'm heading back soon. I'm going to make sure Nora and Ren aren't getting bottled up by this too."

Pyrrha very much wanted to ask about his friend with the conspicuous name. But he had important matters to attend to. There'd be a better time. "Okay. I'm glad you're all right."

"Lot of that going around," Jaune observed. "It's been a weird night."

It wasn't over. At least, not for him.

Pyrrha still needed to know more about this Neo. It wouldn't surprise her at all if Jaune had made friends with a criminal, albeit inadvertently, and she was taking advantage of his kindness.

All the more reason for her to invite herself along on the next excursion…


	5. The Moon Bathed in Black

**A/N:** This chapter operates on the assumption of a timeskip occurring between Chapters Four and Five of Volume 2, following the start of the second semester and the interim leading up to the pre-Vytal Festival dance.

 **Chapter Five: The Moon Bathed in Black**

* * *

Pyrrha showed some restraint when Jaune returned with Ren and Nora in tow by not _immediately_ inquiring about how his non-date went. She wanted to try and match up the timing of events and think on the size of a kingdom like Vale and the relative positioning of Team RWBY's battle with Torchwick and Jaune's meal at the ice cream parlor. The two locations were actually relatively close, but based on what Pyrrha overheard while shamelessly eavesdropping on her friends across the hall, they'd actually found the criminal mastermind at a White Fang Rally. This begged the question… was this Neo girl a Faunus? Maybe something about Jaune intrigued them.

But that thought was quickly supplanted when she noted the half-smudged residue of lipstick on Jaune's cheek. Her eyes immediately moved to Nora, who'd noticed it just as quickly but apparently refrained from commenting. Her eyes then moved to Ren, who was every bit as observant of the two girls but had shown some solidarity with Jaune by not calling attention to it. Still, Ren didn't stick around to defend him when Nora suggested they go to the lounge and make some food, leaving Jaune to Pyrrha's tender mercies. Maybe Ren thought Pyrrha would hold her tongue, as she so often did.

Not tonight.

Pyrrha told herself she _wasn't_ asking because of the smudged lipstick on his cheek. She needed to verify the Neo Jaune went to see _wasn't_ the same Neo that had given their friends in Team RWBY such a headache. Pyrrha learning the details of Jaune's date was just a means to that very specific end.

Still, Pyrrha focused on something important to her. "I'm glad you made it out okay," she observed. "What happened with your friend Neo?"

"Oh, the ice cream parlor was really nice," Jaune answered. "Girl can _eat_ ; she'd give Nora a run for her money."

Pyrrha tried very hard not to ask about the lipstick on his cheek. "Was she affected by all the damage Torchwick did too?"

"No, she had a thing to go to," Jaune shook his head. "She left a good half hour before all that started up."

Jaune didn't seem to reach the possible conclusion, but maybe he had reason to. Pyrrha thought she should ask _where_ Neo went afterwards, but again she restrained herself. She couldn't be too blatant in chasing her preferred theory. "I'm glad to hear it. Will you be seeing her again?"

"I hope so," Jaune replied, pulling out his Scroll and looking over it. "Neo seemed like she really needed to get out, you know? I don't think she has a lot of friends… when she added my number she only had one other contact in her Scroll."

Pyrrha was glad to hear Jaune still refer to Neo as 'friend'. And the latter half of his statement made Pyrrha wonder if perhaps Neo really _was_ just a shy and lonely girl Jaune had helped and befriended.

It wasn't too farfetched. Pyrrha's problem was that it was too _familiar_.

Pyrrha tried to extract herself from her own biased perspective and focus on Jaune's answers. While it was certainly _possible_ that she'd left Jaune and gone to fight Team RWBY a while later, it was far more likely she'd shared some ice cream with a friend before life had called her away. Most shy girls didn't team up with criminal psychopaths. Fewer still worked with ideologues like the White Fang.

"Did she happen to mention what it is she does?" Pyrrha wondered, hoping the question sounded innocent enough.

Jaune held his right hand up to his chin and pondered the question. "Now that you mention it, it never really came up. And she… well, yeah, I found out she really _is_ mute, so it takes her a long time to tell me anything over a Scroll. Most of the time I was doing the talking, and she seemed to like it that way."

Pyrrha understood that. _She_ liked it that way too.

She focused on the objective. All she had to do was mention that someone with the same name had prevented their friends from capturing Torchwick. No doubt Jaune would rush to Neo's defense, but at least he'd be aware of the potential danger of his shy little friend.

Pyrrha was telling him this for his own safety, and in case it could help their other friends… not because…

She stared at his cheek for several long seconds. She thought of what had prompted the action, and how Pyrrha herself had been tempted to do the same and never made the leap. She watched Jaune go through his Scroll and smile to himself, no doubt reflecting on the evening he'd had.

There'd be a better time than this. Even though Pyrrha had a good reason to worry about the girl Jaune was associating with, the need wasn't so immediate as to ruin his night. Seeing his little smile… Pyrrha wished she'd been the one to bring it out, but there was no way she could ever be the one who _took_ it from him.

Slowly, Pyrrha stood up and composed her thoughts. "Well, I hope you'll bring her by so we can all meet her someday. She sounds like a nice girl, and I'd love to know more about her."

It wasn't entirely true, but Pyrrha _definitely_ wanted to know more. And if she took a measured approach, there was less chance Jaune would be hurt by her questioning and less chance of Neo knowing someone was on to her… _if_ it was the same girl, which seemed less likely the more Jaune talked about her.

"I'll let her know my partner wants to meet her," Jaune confirmed with a smile. Pyrrha's heart lifted ever so slightly at the way he called her 'partner.' She beamed at him, as Jaune jerked his thumb out the door. "Wanna head to the common room and see what Ren's whipped up? Maybe see if there's anything good on TV?"

Pyrrha might've preferred it be just the two of them, but she certainly wouldn't mind Nora and Ren. There were few better ways to spend an evening than time with her best friends.

Pyrrha nodded and went to collect her things. Jaune waited in the hall, holding the door for her on her way out. When she joined him there, he again took hold of her shoulder before turning around and locking up.

It wasn't perfect and Pyrrha would always long for more, but for tonight, it did just fine.

* * *

Roman managed to compose himself once he was out of the bullhead and explaining the night's misadventure to Cinder over his Scroll, speaking in his room while Neo waited in the living room. Neo wasn't privy to the conversation, but Roman was using a smoother, more authoritative tone –and not the timid whimpering Cinder had once inspired in him- and whatever displeasure Cinder had he managed to expertly deflect. Given how many times Roman mentioned 'the White Fang' and 'the Faunus' it seemed like he'd shifted the blame to their allies who'd so foolishly let into their rally the same two kids who'd screwed up their docks heist before.

Roman eventually managed to talk her down, as heated shouting was replaced by a quieter, more businesslike tone and the two back on track. Roman was much more accommodating of whatever requests Cinder was making now, no doubt trying not to push his luck too far. He paused for a long stretch, then gave Cinder an assent before hanging up. He rejoined her a few moments later, fully aware Neo had been listening in on his conversation. "She's decided to delay the schedule a bit; she's going to act herself and get the info she wants right from the CCT."

That suited Neo fine. Better to let Cinder finally provide a meaningful contribution…

"But she's also sending the White Fang to Mountain Glenn now that we've added a few new recruits," Roman went on. "And she's sending me down there with them too to oversee things."

Neo narrowed her eyes. Roman raised his right hand and shook his head. "I know, I know. It's gonna take me out of the city a few weeks while we get everything set up. I don't _want_ to leave you here, kiddo-"

Neo took hold of his arm. She looked up at him, plaintive. Surely he realized that he couldn't simply leave her alone. Not again.

"Cinder knows I had help to bail me out of the fight with the Beacon kids, but she doesn't know about any of your powers," Roman told her. "She _wants_ you to come with me and come out into the open. You really think we'll have better luck staying hidden out there with just her White Fang buddies for company?"

Neo understood what he was saying but she was completely unwilling to hear it. She would not be alone. She _couldn't_ be alone again. She squeezed his arm tighter.

"Neo…" Roman spoke softly. "I can't bring you with me."

Neo's grip tightened. He couldn't go now; not when he was so clearly in over his head. Not when he'd nearly lost it because a bunch of teenagers ruined his score. He needed her, and she'd always need him.

"I want to bring you along, don't you get that?" Roman asked her. "I don't want to stick my neck out for this woman or her cause or whatever it is she's working on, and I know that it'd be easy for her to bump me off while I'm out in the middle of nowhere and there's one less loose end lying around. I _want_ you there watching my back. I _want_ you there so neither of us is alone.

"But you're the only person in the world I trust," Roman went on. "You're the only one I know I can always count on. And they know about you now. You really think Cinder will care about losing one more thief? You really think the White Fang will hesitate when they put two and two together and realize you aced the guys that tried to move in on our score?"

Why did he have to be so logical? He kept saying things Neo badly didn't wish to hear. Mostly because she knew he was right.

Normally she liked it when Roman was right; it reinforced her faith in him. But right now, she didn't want him sacrificing on her behalf. Not if it meant being alone again.

She thought briefly of Jaune, and what might come from him. They had a bond now too, and if Roman left her in Vale she'd have another way to occupy her time and her thoughts; another life that mattered to her just as Roman's did.

But then Roman would be alone and surrounded. And Neo could do nothing if they finally decided he wasn't worth the trouble.

No. Not again. There'd be no more failures, no more narrow escapes. He was going to be safe, and –in time- free. Neo would see to that.

She released her grip on his arm and pulled him into a hug. She looked up at him, wearing the same look she wore when they met… when she'd been starving and desperate for the kindness of a stranger to help her survive one more day.

Then it had been an affectation. Now it was her purest wish: for him to hear her, in the way only he could.

Roman was only trying to protect her; she understood that. But he had to let _her_ protect _him_ too. He had to understand that his life mattered to her just as her's mattered to him. He may not have been _all_ Neo had in her life now, but he was still the most important part. He was still someone she loved. The _only_ one she loved, if only for a little while longer.

He struggled for a long time, but he was one of the only people who could look her in the eye. He saw her soul looking up at him, and could not look away.

"Okay, kid," Roman finally conceded. "Okay."

Neo nestled her head into his chest. He reached a hand up to press to the back of her head, holding her tightly. He held her there, quiet for a long time.

"A couple of days from now," Roman finally broke his silence. "Get whatever you need done; we're gonna be gone a while."

Neo wished she had more time with Jaune, but that was something she could make up later. For now, she had this. For now she had Roman, and for now neither of them was alone.

* * *

Jaune wasn't expecting to get a text back from Neo so quickly; certainly not just two days later. Still, they had a weekend without homework, so he was happy to meet up again. Though he wasn't quite sure where or for what purpose, he knew that he wanted to see her and continue with whatever they had going on.

It certainly seemed like Neo liked him, but she was still pretty difficult for him to read. It was possible her gesture wasn't meant to be romantic… Nora tackled him with hugs a few times a week and it was blatantly clear she was more interested in Ren than Jaune and she was just overly affectionate and had no sense of personal space.

 _If_ Neo was looking for more… Jaune couldn't deny he was open to the idea, but that made him wonder about all that was going on at Beacon. He'd already told Neo about Weiss, so she knew his eye was elsewhere. Maybe she meant only to show him support and encouragement. Maybe she just wanted to apologize for having to leave so abruptly.

He didn't want to lead her on, but at the same time…

She was cute. _Very_ cute. Jaune hadn't really given it thought until their trip to the parlor, even when Neo had been hanging off him before. He still wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to tell him half the time and didn't actually know all that much about her, but he _did_ want to know more. He did want to understand her, if he could.

With Weiss, he'd always assumed the day would come where she would appreciate his determination and resolve and realize he wasn't chasing after her just because she was rich. That hadn't mattered to him at all… though there remained the question of whether she'd ever really return his feelings. She tolerated him, maybe even considered him a friend, but Jaune knew that at times he exasperated her and she never once showed him any appreciation. Neo hung on his every word and embraced him every time she saw him, all because he could look her in the eye.

Now he was comparing them. Now he was wondering where things were going with Neo, because so far things hadn't gone anywhere with Weiss.

He didn't want to be flighty in his affection. He didn't want to be torn back and forth between two possibilities… to ever think that whatever girl he was interested in had to share space with another. It wasn't fair to them. It wasn't the type of guy Jaune Arc wanted to be.

He'd always chased Weiss. He'd have been content thinking of Neo as his friend… just a very affectionate one.

But now…

Jaune told the others he was heading into Vale again. Nora seemed surprisingly opposed to the idea, suggesting his teammates accompany him, but Pyrrha put her foot down and reined Nora in, wishing Jaune well and asking him to say hi to Neo on their behalf.

Pyrrha was always watching out for him. He was so fortunate to have a friend like her.

* * *

Neo was a bit worried about going to Junior's dance club. Some of the guys working there might've seen her hanging around with Roman before, and some other ones might've been a bit upset about how she and Roman punished them for their failures. Fortunately, Junior seemed cowed by her presence and didn't try anything stupid, leaving her to time with Jaune, as she wished.

She wasn't sure how long she was going to be gone, only that it'd take a while to move everything into place at Mountain Glenn. She was finally going to see the big operation and again move openly among the White Fang, so she wanted to steal just a little time before life moved on. Roman was her focus and her priority, but she didn't want to forget the other man in her life.

Jaune seemed a bit wary about some of the blatantly illegal activity going on at the bar counter or in the various booths around the walls, but once out on the dance floor he was instantly in his element. He was very tall –but then, _everyone_ seemed to be- but expertly moved Neo about, leading her motions with a gentle hand. Neo had thought herself graceful, but she'd never been asked to dance. It wasn't something she'd taken the time to learn, yet now she was quite committed to getting better at it, if only so Jaune wouldn't constantly outperform her.

It had seemed like one of so many things in life she'd never do. At least, not before she'd met Jaune.

And it gave her an excuse to hold his hand again as he led her back and forth on the floor. She wished she could always maintain eye contact, but every now and then she had to look down at his feet so she could learn the motion.

She couldn't match his grace, but she could flow pretty well. She could move with him just well enough that she didn't feel left behind. Just a step back… but a step behind Jaune wasn't such a bad place to be.

When they finally stepped off the dance floor and found a table, Neo knew she had to tell him… something. She didn't want to lie to him –and it was _very_ strange she felt so reluctant to lie- but she couldn't just say she was going out of the kingdom to help a bunch of terrorists with some sort of evil plan.

Even the thought of it bothered her. She had no idea what Cinder was up to, but if it wasn't _money_ she was after, it was undoubtedly something worse. Something a good person like Jaune might be opposed to. And Neo would be helping them with whatever terrible deed they were setting out to do…

Why was she letting it bother her? Roman was the priority. His safety was all that mattered. It wasn't like Jaune would be anyone's target. But then again, the kids from Beacon _had_ been a thorn in their side… so much so that Neo had once fully intended to use Jaune to get information about them, a thought that completely disappeared after just a few kind gestures from him.

She had to focus. There wasn't much time to be sentimental. She had to savor the important moments, and wanted to finish the important task as quickly as she could.

She started typing: _I really needed this._ _I'm going to be out of town for a while._

Jaune looked down and read, then met her eye again, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the club. "What's going on?"

She didn't want to lie… even though she really should've. So she just typed: _Work_.

Jaune didn't seem to press her on it, though Neo was sure he was curious. He just asked: "How long until I see you again?"

Neo didn't know. But she couldn't just tell him she didn't know. No doubt –dense as he was- he might eventually realize Neo wasn't working for any legitimate businesses. She tried changing tactics and just leaned up on him, resting her head against his shoulder.

She then typed out: _Too long_.

Jaune briefly glanced at her message then looked back at her, adjusting himself slightly in the booth so Neo could more comfortably press to him. It seemed she'd succeeded in distracting him, because he'd moved past asking about her job. "Will you be back for the festival?"

The Vytal Festival… Neo had seen the highlights on TV on occasion, but had never attended one. It had come to Beacon once when she was still a child, and she remembered seeing the Amity Colosseum hanging in the sky… a beautiful thing far away from her in the cold and lonely dark.

"My team and I are going to be competing," Jaune explained. "My partner's a really great fighter; I'll bet she'll win the whole tournament." He ruffled her hair with one hand. "She was really hoping to meet you, by the way- I told her all about you."

Neo wasn't sure what irritated her more: that Jaune had mentioned her to his partner or his partner was a girl he was heaping praise upon. But Jaune didn't really know anything about her, and none of the authorities had kicked in Roman's door, so Neo didn't _think_ he'd told anyone anything incriminating… maybe just that he'd met a girl and wanted to let his teammates know.

Normally Neo would do anything to stop this information from spreading, up to and including killing the one who knew. Surely _someone_ at Beacon was smart enough to put two and two together and realize that Jaune knew about an associate of the most wanted man in Vale… and eventually she might actually want to tell him more.

But he still had four more years at that school… Jaune certainly knew how to dance, but could _Neo_ dance around this forever? Could she even dance around it much longer?

Neo pushed that troublesome thought away. She'd told him what she needed to. Now the rest of her time with him was for moments like these. Not for worrying about the future.

"I wish you could stay," Jaune mused. "There was a dance coming up…"

Was he… going to ask her to a dance?

Neo had no conventional education beyond the very earliest fundamentals, but she'd heard of such things.

There was that boyish charm again. The thing that made it so very hard for her to let go.

She typed into her Scroll: _There's still tonight_.

She reluctantly pulled out from her cuddle and stood up, finally taller than him, and finally the one reaching a hand down to him. He smiled and took her hand in his.

It'd be a long time until she could do this again.

But she would. Whatever they were doing in Mountain Glenn, whatever the White Fang were up to, whatever meticulous planning Cinder had done, Neo _would_ see Jaune again, if only for more moments like these.

And as for his dance, well, maybe that other girl would realize what she was missing out on after she saw the way Jaune moved out on the floor.

* * *

 _A Few Weeks Later_

"Hey, Blake! You… uh… doing okay?"

Blake felt Sun's hand on her shoulder. She knew he was just trying to be kind, just checking to see how she was… no doubt he'd easily spotted the dark circles under her eyes and the frazzled state of her hair. Too many sleepless nights had taken their toll, and though she didn't really want Sun to see her this way, she did turn to respond to him. "I'm fine."

Sun cleared his throat and very awkwardly began: "So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend… sounds pretty lame, but… you and me I'm thinking: not _as_ lame, huh?"

Blake was genuinely astonished. "What?"

"The dance this weekend!" Sun reiterated. "You wanna go or what?"

Was he… Blake could barely believe it. "I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought _you_ of all people would get that." She stormed away, passing right by her teammates without giving them any chance to catch up. She didn't want anyone to meet her eye as she projected fury outward.

With all that had happened -with Torchwick and the White Fang- why was _anyone_ thinking about a dance? How could that possibly be anyone's priority in the wake of what seemed like a major threat to the kingdom?

And Sun… Blake knew he liked her, but thought he knew her better than this. She thought he understood. She thought his kindness had no expectation.

She felt her friends eyes on her back. All the way back to their dorm she knew they were staring, no doubt curious about her unexpected outburst.

But once they returned…

"You _what_?!" Blake was beside herself.

"We want you to go to the dance," Ruby said again.

Weiss pointed out her grades had been suffering. Yang assured her that they all still intended to follow up with Torchwick and the White Fang eventually. Ruby pointed out Blake wouldn't find anything if she couldn't keep her eyes open.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time," was about as polite as Blake was willing to be in declining them. She then went out the door and headed for the library, passing by Jaune in the hallway, tuning a guitar. It was such an unfamiliar sight she couldn't help but stop for a moment to observe.

"I've got a plan," he enthusiastically explained, before finding the right chord, playing it a few times to make sure he had the right tune… and knocked on the door. Blake discreetly drew out of sight, her head still poking out from the corner to watch him try.

" _Weeeeiiiiisssss_ … " he began, throwing up his hand and winking. Someone in the dorm (presumably Weiss) slammed the door in his face, but he was undeterred, knocking again. "Oh, come on!"

He was as much as a fool as Sun had been, but at least Jaune came by it honestly. At least he'd always been unwavering in his foolishness and determined to press on no matter how often Weiss shot him down.

Another example of someone more interested in a dance than bad guys up to no good, but at least Jaune was out of the loop there. At least he was just trying the same thing he always tried.

At least…

Blake was making a surprising amount of excuses for behavior from Jaune that annoyed her when it came from Sun.

* * *

Jaune actually managed to force her back a little. He'd always had strength, but his technique had improved enough that he was applying it in just the right measure, combining his brute force with the arc of his swing. He noticed it too, and put up quite a confident smile when he saw her skid back ever so slightly. Pyrrha loved to see that smile. She couldn't help but return it.

Before she swept his legs out from under him, punishing him for making his attack too angular and not properly defending himself. When she saw him land hard she couldn't quite suppress a laugh at his expense… something she never did anywhere else but here with him; he alone saw this ungracious side. Still, Pyrrha was entirely earnest in saying: "Well done!" She reached down to help him up, adding: "Your swordplay's improved immensely!"

"Couldn't have done it without you," Jaune assured her, dusting himself off.

"So, are you ready to move on to Aura?" Pyrrha inquired, eager to see Jaune in a more contemplative state.

"I'm… actually thinking maybe we just… skip Aura tonight," Jaune replied. "Might go on a jog or something."

Pyrrha wasn't interested in being denied. "Come on. I _know_ you get frustrated, but you must keep trying! I'm sure we'll discover your Semblance any day now!"

She meant it wholeheartedly. She _wished_ for it, if nothing else.

"That's… not it," Jaune admitted. "It's just… it's dumb."

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked, before taking the available excuse to reach over to his shoulder and hold his gaze with her own. "Jaune… you know you can tell me."

"It's… Weiss," Jaune reluctantly admitted.

Pyrrha's hand slid right off Jaune's shoulder as she recognized where this was going. She put on the best smile she could manage. "Oh. What about her?"

"I asked her to the dance and she shot me down," Jaune explained, before laughing at his own expense. "Big surprise, right?"

Pyrrha sensed opportunity, but once again wasn't too direct. "Well, I believe the saying goes 'there's plenty of fish in the sea.'"

That was cliché. And trite. And he probably didn't realize what she was implying.

And she knew it.

"That's easy for you to say," Jaune noted. "You've probably got guys clamoring all over each other to ask you out."

Pyrrha tried to make her faint chuckle sound authentic. "You'd… be surprised."

"Oh, please," Jaune rolled his eyes. "If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress."

Pyrrha watched him stride away. When she was certain he'd left the rooftop, her eyes darted down to the floor, as she finally allowed herself to be sad, now that he could no longer see her so.

Did he really think she would go with someone else? Or that she _wanted_ to? Was _that_ why he was so fixated on other girls rather than the one always standing beside him?

Maybe she just needed to say it. To finally acknowledge that she wanted to be more.

But how he felt about Weiss… how determined he was, no matter how many times he'd failed…

Then there was that other girl Neo, though he hadn't mentioned her in a while. Maybe she really _was_ just a friend, if he was still chasing after Weiss. Whether or not she was the same Neo as had attacked Team RWBY… well, she didn't have confirmation there one way or another, but Pyrrha thought she might have tried to kill Jaune by now were that the case. And if she'd escaped at the same time Torchwick did, it seemed odd that Neo would hang out with Jaune just two days later. The timing was conspicuous, but there were too many strange variables. It wouldn't be the first time Pyrrha had been wrong. It wouldn't be the first time she misread what was going on in Jaune's mind.

Well now he'd made his thoughts clear. Now his attention was firmly on Weiss. And much as Pyrrha wished it weren't the case…

Just because she wanted to believe something was true didn't make it so. And just wanting something to happen wasn't enough. Action needed to be taken.

It would hurt, but blows to the heart often did.

* * *

The next day her opportunity presented itself. Jaune was talking to Ren, and apparently quite determined Nora stay out of the conversation, based on the way he insisted she keep her headphones on.

"Jaune, what is this all about?" Ren inquired.

Jaune sighed. "It's Weiss."

So the target of his affections remained the same. And Pyrrha had worried about Neo and Blake…

"I'm completely head over heels for her and she won't even give me a chance," Jaune explained. "She's cold… but she's also incredible. She's smart and graceful and talented… I mean, have you heard her sing? I just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know?"

Pyrrha waited outside the door. She wondered if Jaune had ever heard Weiss say something about someone _she_ liked. She wondered if any of her teammates had ever known this feeling, of listening to someone they cared about gush about how much they liked someone else.

"I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up…"

Pyrrha put her game face on and stepped inside. "Then do it."

"Uh, wha-?" Jaune began, Nora sliding off her headphones to listen to Pyrrha.

"Tell her exactly what you've just said," Pyrrha insisted. "No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines, just... be honest."

"But-" Jaune began, but Pyrrha quickly cut him off.

"Jaune," she interjected, keeping her tone even and measured as she once again forced a smile into place: "You can't get it wrong if it's the truth."

Seeing him smile in return made it easier for Pyrrha to hold her own. It became progressively less difficult to keep smiling the longer he looked at her. "You're right. Thanks, Pyrrha." He stood up with renewed vigor and headed out, waving back: "Good talk, Ren!"

Pyrrha watched him leave, knowing full well there was at least some chance of him succeeding now. Now that Jaune was approaching Weiss with only his own sincerity and determination… Pyrrha wasn't sure how she could possibly resist that.

She turned her head to watch him depart, ensuring neither Ren nor Nora saw her smile fade… only her back, looking on in support of her partner as he marched ahead.

* * *

Blake remained in the classroom a long while after her talk with Yang. She waited well into the early evening, the skies gray and cloudy with only the exterior lights of Beacon to illuminate her now. For a Faunus, it was only a mild inconvenience… even with the halls devoid of moonlight she could easily see the curves and corners in the darkness.

She also had exceptional hearing, and briefly took note of Weiss calling out to Neptune in one of the halls nearby. She was tempted to listen in on what they were talking about, but eventually managed to leave and allow them their privacy, sliding back outside and heading down the opposite hall. While wrapping her way back around, she spotted Jaune standing just outside on the pleated stone, holding a single white rose in his outstretched hand… before slinking his way back outside, the flower falling uselessly to the ground, not thirty feet from Weiss and Neptune.

A recent talk had really helped Blake when she was in a bad place. And two rejections in as many days seemed like a pretty bad place to be.

She followed after him, watching as he stepped out into the courtyard, wandering through the dim artificial light for a long time. Blake briefly considered leaving him to brood, to process things on his own –as was her usual method- but felt compelled to help him. He'd done the same for her more than enough times to merit an exception.

He finally stood before the statue in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the twin hunters as they fended off the Grimm from their small, barely defensible position. With the moon bathed in black clouds over his head and the nearest light posts several yards away, he probably couldn't even see Blake standing a few feet away.

For a long time they were both quiet. Blake really wasn't one for initiating conversation, but she had come with the mindset of assisting him…

She was slow in taking her steps, but eventually she did walk over to him, reaching up to put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Jaune turned to look at her and offered a weak smile. "Yeah… just… thinking, I guess. Thinking I brought this on myself."

He wasn't wrong, but Blake doubted that'd be helpful to hear. He may not have been good at reading the signs from Weiss, but his efforts had always been sincere. "It was big of you not to interrupt her," Blake assured him, entirely genuine in the compliment.

"I hope he'll make her happy," Jaune replied, sounding weary… but again, sincere. Blake's ears couldn't detect any waffling in his words. He meant it. "And I mean… I guess I waited too long."

Okay, that wasn't the lesson he should take there. Blake prepared to gently correct him, before Jaune continued. "I just had to look elsewhere…"

"Elsewhere?" Blake repeated, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder.

"Yeah, there was another girl on my mind," Jaune admitted. "One I only became close with recently… I didn't even know her until we all went to the docks last semester."

Was he talking about…?

"And I really feel like we've been bonding lately, but she's still really shy and reserved," Jaune added. "I know it's hard for her to talk about… _anything_ , really, but I wish I knew more about her. I get the sense she's got a past, or a regret, or something trailing after her that just won't let go and she can't bring herself to tell anyone because she isn't used to letting them in."

Was she really so obvious that even _Jaune Arc_ could see it? Or was he more perceptive than he appeared to be?

Well, he didn't seem to _know_ she used to be in the White Fang. Or maybe he did, but didn't know about what Blake had done… about what she _allowed_ to happen. Maybe he suspected there were things she'd done she couldn't bring to the surface because of how terrified she was of what the others would think of her.

Or how she worried that by remembering the past might somehow call it back to her, just as it had when the White Fang showed their true colors and sided with a man like Torchwick. How things only seemed to get worse.

"And for a while there I was chasing her like I was chasing Weiss, like I'd have been content ending up with either of them," Jaune admitted. "But it wasn't fair to either of them that I was thinking that. And maybe this is just a reminder that I should be content with what I've got, or try to get it right and only ever think of one person."

Jaune was more complex than she thought. Blake wasn't sure she liked this side of him… but then, she couldn't really blame him being torn in different directions with feelings he couldn't control. It wasn't so long ago she'd drawn pictures of Sun in a notebook while still dreaming about her time with Adam.

The look in his eyes as he stood there… the quiet pain in each breath he took… he couldn't feel that way unless he'd felt very strongly. Unless he'd been in love.

Blake knew the look. And the pain.

And if he'd felt this way, he'd done a remarkable job keeping it to himself. He'd never once brought it up when she was off with Sun. In fact, aside from the time he'd called to see if she was okay after the fight with Roman and the White Fang, he'd been the only one giving Blake her space and very pointedly hadn't tried to ask her to the dance.

She knew that pain. She knew the restraint it took to keep it hidden away, no matter how strong the feelings were.

Blake stepped in front of him and reached a hand up to his cheek, gesturing for him to lean down a little bit. When Jaune complied, she leaned up and pressed her forehead to his.

It was an old Faunus instinct, something she and her parents often did to show affection or concern. To remind the one receiving the blessing they were not alone and someone cared enough to acknowledge them.

But another part of her, a part more girl than feline… recalled the kindness Jaune showed her again and again, and the restraint he'd shown in never once acting on the feelings he'd had…

Her lips found his.

It was only a moment: an impulsive act that took both of them by surprise. Blake retracted almost immediately, though her hand remained on Jaune's cheek, their eyes meeting in the dim light.

"Blake…" he whispered, stunned.

Blake couldn't manage to maintain eye contact. She didn't want to try and explain this. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to do anything but trust the instinct that had driven her to act.

She leaned forward and kissed him again, pulling him in close.


	6. Too Many Bitter Tears

**Chapter Six: Too Many Bitter Tears**

* * *

Jaune took a long time to respond to Blake's actions. Eventually he leaned into it, repeating a lot of what Blake had done first. It reminded Blake all too well of her first kiss with Adam, when she'd nervously tried to emulate his actions and let him lead her along. She'd been as unmoving as Jaune… though not quite as surprised. She'd wanted to kiss Adam, had known Adam wanted to kiss her… she knew it would happen, she just wasn't sure _when_ it would happen.

Was this Jaune's first kiss? Or at least, his first _real_ kiss?

That wasn't all that surprising… but then, Blake hadn't really intended to occupy such an important role in his life or his memory as she would now. She supposed it was preferable to the bitter taste she had now when recalling _her_ first kiss.

So many troubling thoughts again, but she couldn't help them now. What had started as a raw impulse to quell her troublesome mind hadn't been strong enough to silence her own doubts as she'd expected the act to. Instead of the moment she meant to focus on, her thoughts were all on what would follow it.

This would change things between Blake and Jaune -and between their teams- if there was more to come. It would change things between Blake and Sun, if there was anything here for her to pursue.

Was this what she wanted?

Blake finally drew back. When her lips left his, Jaune was gasping for breath. When he managed to compose himself and meet her eye, Jaune fumbled through his words. "Blake, I… I had _no_ idea you felt this way…"

But he'd invited her to this moment, hadn't he? Hadn't he pined away from afar? "W-what do you mean?"

"I mean-" Jaune couldn't quite complete his thought. "I mean…" He couldn't hold her gaze any longer. "Wow. I mean, I remember you guys telling me I was oblivious, but I _never_ would've seen this coming. I thought you and Sun were a thing."

Him and everyone else. They weren't too far off the mark, but they all just seemed to _assume_ …

But then, who was he talking about before? When he mentioned the docks, Blake immediately recalled his harebrained attempt to help her when she was in trouble. But then Pyrrha had been the one to reach them first, and sat with Jaune after the cops fished him out of the water.

And out of all their friends –save possibly Ren- Blake had always been the most reserved and quiet. But there was quite a difference between being quiet and being _shy_ , which Blake really wasn't… if anything, that better described Pyrrha; friendly as she was, she was also quite austere and not very good at getting to know people. And come to think of it, Blake didn't know much of anything about Pyrrha, save that she was a very skilled fighter and multiple time regional champion from Mistral, a kingdom almost as bad as Atlas when it came to corruption and willful oversight. And while Blake wasn't always privy to JNPR's conversations (unless Nora was talking), she did recall a lot of long and noticeable pauses from Pyrrha in… pretty much every conversation she could recall.

"Jaune… the person you were talking about before…" Blake tried to keep her tone even, so as not to jump ahead too far. "The… the one that wasn't Weiss, did you mean…?"

She never thought she'd hope he meant her. She never thought she'd be hoping Jaune's eye had turned to her. Now she was.

Jaune gave a noticeably fake cough in response. Even without her Faunus hearing Blake could've detected how artificial the noise was. And he still couldn't manage to meet her eye.

So many unpleasant thoughts now. Far too many.

And too many reminders.

"I'm such an idiot," Blake murmured to herself, her own eyes darting to look at the ground.

"Blake…" Jaune began, but couldn't compose anything more than that; not even an empty platitude.

Blake's instinct was to run from this. To retreat back to her dorm and hide in her bunk and pretend none of this had ever happened.

But then she thought on what Yang had said to her: _slow down_. She'd rushed ahead and let emotion dictate her response already, and now she'd made things quite awkward for both of them. And Jaune was already having a lousy night, and then Blake compounded it.

"Jaune," Blake finally managed to say, "this… we don't have to make anything out of this, okay? We were just… both in kind of a weird place and emotional and hurt and we just-"

Needed each other.

Obviously she couldn't say that. "-we just did something we didn't mean to, both of us."

It would be wrong to split the blame evenly; her friend had opened up to her and Blake had misread the signs and taken the bold step. It said a lot more about Blake than it did about Jaune.

But then again, he _did_ –however awkwardly- kiss her back, so maybe…

Neither of them had planned on it, but Jaune had never been here before. He could've simply reacted to her. He may never have taken this step otherwise. He may have just been too kind to push her away, because Blake had given herself over to the moment.

"Let's just… forget about this," Blake suggested. "There's no reason for things to get weird."

But they would be, no matter what Blake tried. There was no way Jaune _could_ forget this, now that Blake had been his first kiss. There was no way _Blake_ could forget this, now that she realized she had _wanted_ to kiss Jaune.

"Yeah," Jaune managed. "Sure."

She hoped he'd have fought it a little harder, but Blake couldn't blame him for going along. That was what she told him she'd wanted, after all.

It was easier to believe that lie than admit what she'd really felt in that moment. And it sounded like Jaune had problems enough.

Blake reached up to place a hand on his shoulder, to try and show him some gesture of affection and understanding, but didn't quite reach him, her hand awkwardly pointed in the air with her fingers a few centimeters from his hoodie.

Maybe… if she asked him more about… no, she didn't want to hear about Weiss or Pyrrha. She should just tell Jaune what she felt, as best she understood it. That at least tonight she'd felt like he-

Not _just_ tonight. At the docks, after she saw him wet and cold and still trying to verify Blake herself was okay… and then after the food fight, when he'd been generous in lending her aid and kind to students he may not have known at all… and then when he'd called to check up on her after her fight against Torchwick…

If she just told him that maybe there could be something to it all…

Blake lowered her hand before her fingers brushed his shoulder. "We should get inside. Maybe head back."

Jaune meekly nodded and walked back towards the tower. Blake moved to follow, briefly kicking the ground and cursing herself her lack of action.

She returned to the unhelpful thoughts that had been hanging over her _before_ she met Jaune here. She had responsibilities to address, niceties to observe, and appearances to make. Her friends –Sun and Yang in particular- were counting on her to act.

Jaune… well, she wasn't used to relying on others to keep secrets on her behalf, but she didn't _think_ he'd mention this unexpected confluence of events if there were still a chance of finding the girl he _really_ liked.

That wasn't a pleasant thought, but it made things easier to bear all the same.

* * *

Pyrrha wasn't sure what she expected to see when Jaune returned to the dorm room. He tended to put on a brave face even when bitterly disappointed, but hopefully if things had gone well and Weiss had finally realized how fortunate she was, she expected his smile would light up the night. It would be a bittersweet moment for Pyrrha, but at least she'd have that sight to warm her.

When Jaune finally made his way in he was very somber and uncharacteristically quiet, and she knew what the result had been. Nora quietly covered her ears with her headphones and Ren became very interested in his textbook, despite the fact no classes were scheduled until they returned from their first mission after the dance. Jaune didn't seem to notice either of their actions, just sitting down on his bed and staring out the window.

Pyrrha pulled out her Scroll and pretended to look up some piece of information, all while discreetly observing Jaune as he moped. Nora was quick to notice this and took hold of Ren's arm, leading him outside. Jaune was so deep in thought he didn't even realize they'd left.

It was kind of her to give Jaune the space… and Pyrrha the opportunity. But what was she to say? Were there really words that could fix a broken heart? More than that, was there any advice Pyrrha could offer him that would be more helpful than what she'd already suggested? Jaune at his most genuine was also Jaune at his most likeable and kind and Pyrrha was stunned Weiss hadn't been taken in by that. She understood why Weiss might not appreciate Jaune's instances of bravado and showboating, but how could she _not_ swoon from such sincerity?

She could ask him. She could ask if he wanted to go with her; as a friend, as a partner, as a teammate, as… as _anything_ if it meant they'd go together. He didn't have to return her feelings to take her hand on the dance floor; he didn't even need to dance. Pyrrha just didn't want to be alone there nor _see_ Jaune as alone as he was now.

Pyrrha finally put her Scroll away after a few minutes of moving her finger along the screen and never actually opening any new pages and stood up, willing herself towards Jaune. She moved to sit beside him, Jaune still moping as he looked out the window at the clouds smothering the moon. "Do you… want to talk about it?"

She really did prefer listening to him than talking to him herself. It always set her mind at ease to hear his voice; to hear one of the only people in the world who was completely honest with her.

"I just… I feel so dumb for never realizing what was going on," Jaune admitted. "I thought I had a pretty good handle on what everyone wanted. Turns out I don't have a clue."

But honesty had its downside, too. Everyone had the right to feel down at times, but it really didn't suit Jaune at all. Pyrrha pressed ahead: "Did you tell Weiss what you wanted to tell her?"

"No, I never got the chance," Jaune answered. "She's going with Neptune. I heard her go to ask him and… I didn't stick around very long. I didn't want to interrupt them."

That must've hurt for him to see. Just as it hurt Pyrrha to watch Jaune chase Weiss over and over again. He knew her pain now, so maybe he'd better understand what it was to love from afar and love in silence. Maybe he'd be more receptive to Pyrrha's attention now. He was the one hurting right now, so it fell to Pyrrha to be strong enough to ask him. All she needed was to ask him one single question, albeit phrased just right.

She opened her mouth to speak, fixing her eyes on him as Jaune looked out the window.

Pyrrha closed her mouth and averted her eyes. She didn't deserve to enjoy the sight if she was going to be so cowardly. But what if he refused her? What if in taking that step she drove a wedge between them? Friendship didn't recover from such bold actions… and if she overstepped, she could make things not only very awkward between Jaune and herself for the next four years, but also lose something she already had and cherished very much.

But she hated to see him so sad. She wanted to reach out to him, to remind him he wasn't alone, no matter how alone he felt right now.

She couldn't even raise her hand. She just sat there beside him on his bed, staring at the floor and hoping he might confide more in her before night's end.

* * *

Blake rushed back to the dorm after her unexpected bout of misadventure. She immediately climbed up into her bunk and hid away in there. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all eventually returned throughout the night, and Yang kept the other two at bay before they asked Blake any questions. Yang seemed content that Blake was resting, but her view from the bottom meant Yang couldn't make out that Blake was still quite _restless_ , tossing and turning as quietly as she could as her mind raced.

She didn't think Jaune would tell anyone, but the locked door of the JNPR dorm was always cagey about providing any information about the goings-on across the hall. And though Blake suspected Nora was capable of tempering her enormous energy, Blake also thought she'd have quite an outburst if she'd heard about a possible romance brewing between the two sister teams.

Romance… what a strange way to describe it. Blake knew what that felt like, but her only experience in that area had ended badly. And what she'd read in her novels usually had the girl and the guy at least get on the same page after the kiss, if not well before it.

Maybe Blake thought she was better at reading the signs than she actually turned out to be. Maybe she was every bit as hopeless as Jaune, and had someone older and wiser (or so she thought) to lead her along before. And given her track record, maybe she'd never been good at this at all.

Yet still she wished to try. Still she reached out, and hoped her hand would find a better man than Adam. And it had, and he hadn't known how to respond.

Did it have to be Jaune? Did she _want_ Jaune?

Something in her did. Something in her took a step she hadn't been willing to take with anyone else since she left Adam. And it wasn't something in her she could control or even aptly describe. It was an instinct or an emotion, and thus not something she could completely predict or temper.

Jaune's attention was not on her. That should've put a stop to this, because there was no longer any logical reason to pursue. But try as she might, she couldn't seem to let go of the thought. Awkward as things had been after the fact, the moment of their kiss stood out to her as a bright light on a cold and dark evening.

She cared. She was invested now, much as she didn't want to be. Words that had never been meant for her had pulled back the veil and pierced her heart, and in the moment she'd taken hold of him she'd experienced something emerge from within her soul that drew her to him and bound them together, if even only in memory.

She didn't want to pine away for something she'd never have. It was a useless feeling to have, just like whatever it was that still connected her to Adam; that made her think of the good times, no matter how distant they were now. It was a stupid emotion, and one that had caused her enough trouble. She'd already had far too many sleepless nights worrying about someone who didn't merit it, and already shed far too many bitter tears.

Blake found a comfortable groove and tried to sleep. She must've succeeded at some point, because when next she turned she saw the faintest hints of sunlight out the window, and the clouds clearing away from the prior night. Either that or her mind was so troubled she'd completely lost track of time.

Blake crawled out of bed as quietly as she could and went to put some water on her face. She looked into the mirror for a long time, deep in thought. She still had the faintest sign of bags under her eyes, but more than that the fresh stain of teardrops. Had her sorrow reached her in her sleep? Or had she cried without knowing it had happened?

She lowered her head and closed her eyes. There was no reason to let this all hang over her, and she would never again let her life be dictated by how she'd felt about someone. For far too long she'd given herself over to her emotions, and it had blinded her to seeing some genuinely terrible things, all because she was so deeply in love.

Whatever she felt for Jaune was just a single emotion. A powerful emotion, certainly, but one among many… and among the alternatives was a deep sense of the need to fulfill her obligation to Yang. Jaune was not the only one whose kindness she meant to return.

It was very early and it'd probably be wiser for her to wait but Blake had decided her course now. She pulled out her Scroll and ran her finger through her list of contacts and sent out a feeler.

 _Sun… are you going to the dance tonight?_

* * *

Jaune insisted on going to the dance in spite of everything. He'd hold his head up high and find time to be with his friends, even if he couldn't make things work with Weiss. Nora and Ren seemed excited to go, and Pyrrha had assured him she'd be attending, and he'd be interested in meeting whoever she brought with her. Yang probably would tease him incessantly if he hadn't gone, and he figured he should support Yang and Weiss's efforts to make the dance a success now that they'd taken over the organization.

So he strode along, following after Ren and Nora with some strange mixture of confidence and meek acceptance, using his friends to conceal himself, if only slightly. He then made a beeline for the punchbowl, looking for someone to socialize with that wasn't Weiss. Or Blake.

Fortunately, some things never changed, and he found Ruby standing on the sidelines, uncomfortable in her pretty dress and heels, standing very still so she wouldn't topple over. Jaune fixed himself a cup of mysterious pink liquid and noted: "I see you're hiding at the punchbowl too."

"Yep," Ruby replied, accentuating the 'p' with an audible _pop_.

Jaune knew the feeling. At least he wasn't suffering alone. "To the socially awkward," he suggested, raising a glass and inviting her to toast. Ruby giggled and accepted, clinking the cups together.

"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," Ruby gently offered.

"Meh, it's fine," Jaune answered, trying to put a brave face on it. "Neptune's pretty cool. I get why she went with him."

"What do you mean?"

Jaune was halfway through the process of explaining how fortunate Neptune was to pull off the blue hair look –while he was amusing Blake and Sun with an anecdote, no less- when Ruby explained that Neptune _hadn't_ accompanied Weiss to the dance, and in fact Weiss insisted she had too much else to focus on to worry about boys. But Jaune had heard her ask him, which could only mean…

"Hold my punch," Jaune growled, taking a step to pursue this man foolish enough to miss his golden opportunity. Ruby graciously took it off his hands and left him to unleash the scolding Neptune merited, only for his eyes to catch sight of a lovely red dress and an equally red mane of hair and a familiar tiara…

Why was she alone?

Jaune had meant to make his feelings known to Neptune, but suddenly he had a much more important priority to attend to. His partner was unescorted? What jerk of a date would leave her side? Who would make her doubt, if even for a moment?

Jaune followed her when Pyrrha stepped out from the dance hall onto the balcony. "Hey, Pyrrha."

"Hello, Jaune," she greeted, turning around to face him.

"You okay?" Jaune carefully inquired. "I haven't seen you tonight."

Pyrrha turned away again, facing the balcony. "Arrived late, I'm afraid."

"Well, you… look really nice," Jaune complimented her.

Pyrrha raised her hand to her mouth. Jaune wondered if she was yawning. "Thank you."

"Your, uh, _date_ isn't going to beat me up for saying that, is he?" Jaune wondered, shuffling his feet about.

"I think you're safe for tonight," Pyrrha assured him.

Jaune couldn't help but ask the next question. "So, where is the guy?"

Pyrrha finally turned to face him, but couldn't quite meet his eye. "There is no guy."

"What?" Jaune was genuinely astonished.

"Nobody asked me," Pyrrha explained.

"But that's… you're _Pyrrha Nikos!_ How could nobody ask you?" Jaune was beside himself now.

Pyrrha turned towards the balcony again, still not meeting his eye. "I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise… but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long you become separated from the people who put you there in the first place." She turned towards him again, willing herself to meet his gaze. "Everyone assumes I'm too good for them; that I'm on a level that they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people.

"That's what I like about _you_ ," Pyrrha explained. "When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else… and thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime."

Pyrrha knew what she wanted to say, but she adjusted it just a little bit. "I guess… _you're_ the kind of guy I wish I was here with; someone who just saw me for me."

Jaune was too busy staring in astonishment to form any coherent response. Pyrrha strode away, and she was already turning a corner around the exterior of the building before Jaune managed to say: "W-wait!"

Before he could move to follow, however, Jaune heard: "Hey, uh, Jaune, right?"

Neptune.

Jaune focused himself. Neptune had been his original objective, but Pyrrha was far more important now. And he'd need time to set in motion what he was now obligated to do.

But Weiss had been hurt too, and Jaune could do something to mitigate that. It just meant he'd spare Neptune _some_ of his intended wrath, because now there was something more important on his mind than simple revenge. Jaune would focus on Weiss, and what she needed from Neptune, and save the other criticisms he might've had for another day.

First Weiss, then Pyrrha. He had a promise to keep.

* * *

Blake had been in the midst of a slower dance with Sun. He was a bit clumsy on his feet, but he'd been able to keep pace with her. It had made for an enjoyable evening, and Sun was good company, at least so far. He hadn't been too bold nor too timid, striking just the right balance for Blake at the moment.

Her extra set of ears picked up on something rising in the crowd. A sound of… laughter? Had someone said something so funny it had spread through this massive crowd of people?

She glanced over Sun's shoulder and watched the crowd ripple, a familiar blonde head marching determinedly through the throng of partygoers… and some noticeable bare legs passing by skirts and pressed slacks.

Was Jaune wearing…?

Pyrrha turned, every bit as surprised as Blake. "Jaune?"

He _was_. Jaune _was_ wearing a _dress_. Blake had to admit he had the legs for it.

"A promise is a promise," Jaune declared with a sheepish grin.

Pyrrha tried her best –oh, how she tried- but she couldn't fend it off and laughed heartily. "Jaune, you didn't _have_ to!"

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word," Jaune assured her, before reaching out and offering her his hand. "Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me… or do you wanna _dance_?"

That was a no-brainer. Pyrrha was only too happy to take his hand. "I would _love_ to dance." Jaune pulled her in, literally sweeping her off her feet. "Oh!"

Blake looked on as Ren and Nora moved to follow suit, joining their teammates in an impressive dance number. She couldn't help but watch them, stunned, in awe…

And Jaune… once again, the kindness he'd shown, the lengths he was willing to go to for his friend… she felt something well in her chest then. Something that she'd felt before, a long time ago in the quiet wilderness of Vale when observing someone else…

She shook her head. Now was not the time for that thought. It was disrespectful to the person she was actually there with, and to the woman Jaune had made this effort for.

"So those two are an item, huh?" Sun inquired. "Never would've guessed…"

Blake forgave him that, since he hadn't been around to see that bond form. "They're partners, Sun." Then Blake opted to have a little fun, giving him a coy sort of look. "Like Yang and me."

Blake thought that might throw even someone as confident as him for a loop, but Sun remained focused on Jaune. "Nah, it's just… I remember when we were all in Vale chasing after Torchwick, me and Neptune ran into him at the ramen stand. Looked like he'd met a ladyfriend, you know?"

A ridiculous notion. But then again…

Weiss had been with Blake during the battle with Torchwick, and Pyrrha had been at Beacon when Team RWBY returned, all her teammates still in the city. Who would Jaune have met, if not Pyrrha or Weiss?

Blake led him onto the dance floor, following suit with Team JNPR and what others felt inspired to join them. "Tell me more," she requested, trying her best to go along with the conversation.

"Lipstick smudged on his cheek," Sun explained, pointing at his own face with his index finger. "I didn't think the boy had it in him."

Blake glanced back at Jaune and Pyrrha, thoroughly enjoying themselves as Jaune demonstrated surprising skill. Her eyes narrowed as she wondered about what _other_ girl might've been so inclined to kiss Jaune, and started to wonder about the timeline Jaune had laid out to her again…

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha headed back to the dorm first, still brimming from the exhilaration. Nora and Ren had taken the long way back through the courtyard, and Nora had subtly informed Pyrrha that she'd be taking her time to run on the grass and burn off some of her energy before they turned in for the night. Pyrrha and Jaune would have some time in the dorm to themselves yet again, and this time…

Pyrrha didn't know if Nora was expecting anything to happen, but she'd left the window open to. She'd given Pyrrha the chance to take what she wanted without interruption. And still riding from the high of the dance and finally giving Jaune the biggest hint she could, Pyrrha's only thought was that her faith and patience had _finally_ been rewarded.

She could cap off the evening perfectly. She could just look across at Jaune with the moon peering in their window, and _show_ him how she felt rather than try to find the words. She'd already taken a bolder step than she'd ever meant to, and the rewards had been enormous. They could be grander still, if she were only brave enough.

Pyrrha glanced over at the bathroom, as Jaune changed out of the dress he'd worn –she'd have to inquire about where he got it, but another time- and was looking for his pajamas. She watched him bend his bare back and her mind raced with all the possibilities the night could bring her.

It wasn't the first time she'd stolen a peek and seen him change; such things were unavoidable in the close quarters they lived in. But it _was_ the first time she asked herself whether she should interrupt him, and see if those dancing talents of his might still apply in… other venues.

But she managed to move away from the thought, albeit reluctantly. There was no need to rush, no need to risk tainting the evening. She had so much more than she ever expected already, and would be grateful for what she'd received. It'd _still_ be the best night of her life.

And now there could be others, if she was willing to be bold… and bold at the right time.

After Jaune emerged and settled in, Pyrrha followed suit and changed into something more comfortable. Before she'd let sleep take her, Pyrrha moved to sit at the foot of Jaune's bed. He looked up at her, returning the smile Pyrrha had worn most of the evening.

"I had such a wonderful time," Pyrrha said, though she was sure he'd heard it a few times already. "Thank you, Jaune."

Jaune sat up in bed and reached up to take hold of her arm. "Anytime."

Now seemed an opportune time for a bold move. But just one.

Pyrrha reached her free hand over and intertwined her fingers with Jaune's. He squeezed her hand tight and let his fingers rest in the interlock. A small gesture of affection… but compounded with everything else Jaune had done for her tonight, it was the greatest gesture of all.

The best night of her life, indeed.


	7. Anything But To Be Alone

**Chapter Seven: Anything But To Be Alone**

* * *

 _The Past_

It was cold then. No one ever talked about how cold Vale was in the fall. Everyone thought it was some perfect ideal of a kingdom, bordered by mountains on one side and ocean on the other. Most of the people living there -even the working class- lived in comfort and with a sense of security not enjoyed by vast swathes of the inhabitants of the continent. Vale was densely populated, but the majority of the kingdom lived in comfortable and affordable space. The kingdom bordered a forest rich both in fruits and saps, enrichening Vale with both food and goods to export. Agriculture flourished to the southeast on arable land and every kingdom traded with Vale's ports. There were criminals, but nothing on the scale of a place like Vacuo or Mistral, and no giant oppressive corporations headquartered in Vale were as blatant in their illegality as someone like the SDC. While it may not have been paradise, for many it was a standard of living the rest of Remnant would envy.

For her it was just a bunch of stone and steel, which were cold to rest upon. For her it was wind from the bay and rain from the east, which always troubled her sleep. For her the food was always in someone else's hands; something to covet without ever possessing. For her home was whatever alcove or overhang hadn't been claimed by some other vagrant or demolished by public and private works. For her, she envied the citizens of Vale as much from within as others did from without.

She could not recall how she found her way there. She'd arrived at the docks by boat when she was still small –well, smaller than she grew to be, anyway- and knew her home had once been a different place to Vale, with more open wilderness. She had faint recollection of the time before her arrival, but those thoughts did nothing to help fill her belly or shelter her from the cold, so like anything else she couldn't put to use they were quickly discarded.

She did have one advantage most of the poor and downtrodden did not: she could disguise herself in a convincing –but fragile- illusion, and hide her true appearance. So while vendors reported of thefts by short, skinny girls making off with their food, they never offered a consistent description of her appearance. To the Vale police, the city was under siege by an army of short girls making off with apples and day-old bagels.

Fortunately, she'd become better at disguising her presence. She couldn't talk and her short stature made her hard to see coming. More and more she relied simply on timing and sleight of hand to escape with a meal, rather than depend on her unique ability and draw unnecessary attention. After a bit of practice, it'd become simplicity itself to organize her approach and leave vendors thinking they'd miscounted the day's stock rather than been robbed.

So her belly was full, but that didn't help much with the cold. She hadn't slept an entire night in _weeks_ , always waking in the black to huddle closer and cling to what little warmth she could muster. Fall was bad enough, and now she wasn't sure she'd survive winter without something more protective than an alcove and a tarp.

She turned her attention to Lien cards, picking the pockets of the inattentive. She'd been stockpiling them for a few days, knowing she'd need to stretch the wealth out for a few months when she finally needed to find lodging. It meant more miserable cold nights, but at least she could see further than a single day ahead.

However, one similarly cold night found someone find her stash of Lien cards; a man rummaging through her possessions to acquire them for himself. Small and scrawny though she was, she wouldn't allow herself to lose what little she had. Her survival depended on it.

He was tall, but then everyone seemed to be. Despite being slim like her he was compactly muscled, easily overpowering her feeble attempts to fend him off. He defeated her with contemptuous ease but then went on his way, not bothering to kill her or do any of the other unsavory things she'd heard of bandits and thieves getting up to.

It'd have been kinder to kill her. She was going to die anyway.

But she wasn't going to lie on the stone and steel and wait. If she was going to die, she'd die on her feet. So she moved to follow the thief, pursuing his red hair and fashionable black hat.

She was able to follow him a long time, but eventually he noticed the starving waif trying to follow him. And to his credit, he noticed her before she realized he was aware, and once again he got the drop on her, turning into an alley and then immediately waiting to catch her off guard and knock her flat on her back. "Don't you get it, kid? This _isn't_ your night."

She had no choice, even if her efforts were futile. She wasn't going to lay down and die, at least if there was anything else she could do. She glared up at him as she rose to her feet, trying to at least be defiant at the end of her life. Even if she couldn't fight him, maybe she could instill some fear in him with the one asset she had left to her: the part of her that could inspire fear in anyone who looked upon her.

But his green eyes never retreated. He met her defiance not with fear or surprise… he seemed amused by her defiance. He never once broke contact with her mismatched eyes when he offered her his hand, and to her surprise she accepted it.

"Aren't you interesting," he mused, not yet releasing his grip on her hand. "You got a name, kid?"

* * *

 _Yesterday_

"Neo," Roman gently prodded her, and Neo returned to the land of the living. The train boxcar hadn't made for great living conditions, but Roman's presence had mitigated the difficulty considerably. And since they were deep underground, the cold winds of Mountain Glenn had not found their way down to her, and she slept through the night. The only downside was that day and night were interchangeable, so the train tunnel and the buried city they'd called home the past few weeks looked the same as it did when she woke as when she went to bed.

Roman handed her a cup of coffee and a ration. She was grateful for the act, but couldn't help but pout at the sight… she really had grown used to being able to eat ice cream rather than the foodstuffs the White Fang subsisted on. Sometimes she regretted going along with Roman, especially when she tried to force her food down.

Then she remembered he'd brought her coffee and sat down beside her while she composed herself, and she knew why she'd insisted he bring her along. She smiled at him and moved closer to lean on him, careful to sip her coffee while her messy hair brushed his shoulder.

"Boss lady finally updated me on the schedule," Roman explained to her. "Apparently the first year Beacon students are on their way out starting today to go on missions, and they're taking a bunch of the best huntsmen professors out to supervise them. They'll be gone for a week or more, and Cinder thinks if we launch the operation while they're away we can hit Vale hard before they muster a proper response."

Neo wouldn't miss the kingdom. She didn't particularly _want_ to drop a bunch of Grimm and fanatical terrorists on them, but it was hard for her to muster much sympathy for people who'd never given her a second thought.

Well, save one who she'd just learned would be safely outside the kingdom when this all went down… and while she didn't know if she'd get a chance to see him again after all was said and done, at least he'd be alive when it was over.

He was a brave fool; he'd insist on rushing in to defend his kingdom, no matter how many monsters got in his way. He'd probably get himself killed eventually, but it wouldn't be by week's end when she and Roman finished their work.

Maybe she'd find him again. She _hoped_ she'd find him again.

Then she looked back at Roman and remembered his three lessons: never believe, never trust, never hope.

She couldn't help herself. She'd really enjoyed the time she had with him.

But when this was done, she and Roman would be free. Cinder would get… whatever it was she wanted, the White Fang could continue their pointless political fight, and she and Roman would collect their payday and then they'd be in the wind.

The day they'd been waiting for was so very close now. Then the past could be buried, and she'd have only the future beckoning. And that future wouldn't include Jaune Arc, no matter how he continued to beckon her.

Sometime after sharing breakfast, Roman went to supervise the White Fang's manual labor. Neo was checking the Dust stockpile's numbers on her Scroll when she happened to run through her texting chain with Jaune and thought back on her last dance with him.

If she wanted to, she could provide an explanation for her disappearance and remove the loose end. He'd never come looking for her if he thought she was already gone, and she'd rid herself of these little doubts by cutting off her means of returning to him. It was the smart thing to do…

But when she sent him the message, that'd be it. That'd be the end. She'd destroy her hopes all on her own.

She had Roman. She had all she needed.

She just hadn't expected she'd want anyone else to join her.

* * *

 _Beacon_

Team RWBY headed out ahead of them. Ren and Nora wanted to shadow a sheriff and persuaded Jaune to go along with their mission, though Jaune did end up in a bit of a foul mood when he became envious of the junior detective badges Sun and Neptune would be gaining for themselves on their assignment. Though the boys from Haven invited JNPR to party with them before heading out on assignment, Pyrrha insisted they take the time to rest before they headed out. She wanted their first mission to be a success and she wanted them to perform to a professional standard so as not to reflect poorly on their team or their academy.

Jaune was settling in for an early night when his Scroll beeped at him. He looked down at the name, pleasantly surprised. He was even more pleased when he read: _Gonna be back in town tomorrow! When will you be free?_

He was going to be out of the kingdom for at least a few days, maybe even a week. He erred on the side of caution. _My team's going out of the kingdom on a mission. Probably gone all week._

She sent him a little sad face, but seemed undeterred. _That's okay, Jaune. You've been patient with me and I'll be patient with you. Just text me when you get back, okay?_

 _You bet!_ Jaune assured her.

That uplifted his spirits… only for him to immediately remember how bad he'd made Blake feel just two nights earlier, and how he'd been cursing himself for chasing after two different girls. Neo hadn't explicitly confirmed she was interested in him –certainly not in the way Blake had- but Neo was eager to see him again and he thought maybe…

Should he even continue looking into this? Neo was mercurial enough that he couldn't tell whether she liked him even after she'd kissed him on the cheek and gone dancing with him, so it was possible he was seeing something that wasn't actually there; just something he wanted to find to ease his own loneliness.

And Neo was very alone with so few friends. If Jaune overstepped, if he compromised what they had by misreading the signs –as he had more than once already- he might destroy one of the only friendships Neo had just so he wouldn't feel so bad about having to turn away a _different_ pretty girl he hadn't realized liked him.

He'd have time to think it over while he was away, and a chance to talk with the others. Maybe Neo could finally meet his teammates before he decided to inquire further about Neo's feelings; maybe after she saw the entirety of the package deal he'd scare her off anyway.

Right now he was too busy thinking about how good it'd be to see her again… how much he was looking forward to returning after his mission and feeling her hang off his arm and nestle her head to his shoulder, and just share time with her again that he'd long managed without.

That was his last thought as he drifted off… before being abruptly woken again by his Scroll. At first he thought –he hoped- that Neo was trying to reach him again, until his groggy mind realized he was getting a _call_ not a text, and a call from a different short girl he'd befriended, albeit one with different tones in her hair and a lot more red and black in her attire.

"Hello?" Jaune muttered in a torpor, only for the call to come to an abrupt end before she'd said a word to him. "Ruby…?"

Jaune shrugged and set his Scroll aside, returning to sleep almost as quickly as he woke.

* * *

 _The Past_

Roman showed her there was more to her talent than just changing the colors of her hair and eyes. Though he definitely encouraged her to refine her practical talent, he also showed Neo that she was capable of a great many other tricks; tricks that would be very helpful in keeping them flush with goods.

It was still taking her a while to become accustomed to working with someone else, but unlike the others in Vale –who paid her no heed or turned uncomfortably from the sight of her eyes- Roman ascribed value to her. He believed she was worth far more to him than the Lien cards she'd been hoarding, because she had talents he didn't possess himself, and those talents could be put to good use.

Neo always thought herself simply an expert in disguise. It turned out she could do more than that… _far_ more. Her power didn't simply change her appearance. Her gift –her Semblance, Roman called it- bent _reality_. What she made were still illusions, but illusions that could become tangible enough to linger while Neo herself moved about, invisible to the eye she meant to fool.

Further practice revealed that she could move rapidly from her illusion, 'blinking' several feet at a time and leaving a replica of herself behind to trick the unsuspecting. With her bag of tricks and Roman's blend of cunning and brawn, they switched from careful thievery to complex and direct robbery.

Roman also took to teaching Neo how to fight properly, should her Semblance ever fail her. Neo was still small –and likely always would be- and couldn't bring much physical power to bear, but she was fast and steady on her feet, so Roman focused on her making rapid precision strikes and encouraged her to let her target attack first, to counter their momentum and use the enemy's own strength and bulk against them. In addition to the clothes he bought for her to make her appear less like a vagrant and more like an ordinary citizen, he presented her with a beautiful umbrella: one that could easily disguise a short sword for her to utilize in her rapid and effective way.

She wondered if the day would come when she no longer needed his assistance. Or if he would eventually decide there was some bounty of Lien out there worth more to him than the skills she had to offer.

But those thoughts were becoming more distant with each day. Each job they pulled together, each even portion of the score they split, each meal they shared at his table, and each night she slept in a warm bed and rested without interruption… each little moment led her more and more to a simple conclusion.

He saved her.

She was grateful to him for that. It was the first time she could recall feeling indebted to someone else, and the first time she wanted to _express_ gratitude –even affection- without using it as a means to an end. She wanted him to know she was glad he was a part of her life.

She wasn't sure what it was he wanted, but she knew what she would try.

* * *

 _Mountain Glenn, Today_

Neo enjoyed toying with the tall blonde girl. After weeks of sitting idle while the White Fang loaded Dust and dug tunnels, Neo _finally_ got to cut loose and do what she did best. But she could only pick the bones for so long, and eventually she decided to put the poor fool out of her misery, knocking her for a loop against the roof of the train car.

They were already way ahead of schedule, but Roman thought by launching the mission ahead of schedule and bringing all their resources to bear they could put a stop to the meddlers screwing up their operation and roll right into Vale unnoticed, if a bit understaffed. The two of them and one beefy White Fang lieutenant were enough to deal with the Beacon kids, but they'd also made trouble by bringing a seasoned huntsman along with them on their mission. Neo had to dispose of this girl quickly and regroup with Roman; they were already running out of time in their narrow window and Roman would need Neo to help him if they were going to start the party early.

She drew her blade from its concealed place in her umbrella and prepared to end things quickly… when she felt a burst of wind reach her; wind that somehow struck her inside an enclosed compartment.

Neo immediately jumped backwards, only narrowly avoiding being cut in two by a massive red great sword. She immediately readied herself to engage this new combatant, this tall woman with raven hair and a White Fang-esque Grimm mask.

An unknown element. More to the point, one faster and stronger than Neo was. And one interested either in defending the life Neo meant to end or waiting to counterattack if Neo went on the offensive. Unlike the blonde bruiser Neo had already defeated, this adversary wasn't going to be baited into striking first. Neo's biggest advantage in her fighting style was mitigated, and if she couldn't _outpace_ her foe either…

She had to get to Roman and regroup. But she'd have to find a way _around_ this adversary, because Neo didn't fancy her chances of going _through_ her.

The train cars behind her were slowly detaching to leave explosives that would release Grimm into the tunnel. The surface of the train above her was a battleground as the White Fang and the stolen Atlas tech clashed with the huntsman leading the Beacon students. Behind her were explosions and Grimm. Above her was a trained huntsman and fanatical zealots she didn't think she could depend on. In front of her was a sword she couldn't outrun.

No way to fight and nowhere to flee… but still she'd try. She'd try and find a way out and get to Roman. She just had to trust she could blink far enough to reach him. Or she'd have a better chance moving through her throng of 'allies' atop the train than she would trying to take the direct route.

She hoped she could jump far enough. Neo sheathed her blade and blinked, pushing herself up, hoping not to get caught in something too solid as she headed away…

* * *

 _A Little Further Along_

Blake was charged with anger. Roman Torchwick had been a thorn in Team RWBY's side –in Beacon's side, in Vale's side- for far too long. And now he'd taken a step beyond petty theft and destruction; he was releasing Grimm into a populated and unaware kingdom. Stopping him wasn't personal anymore. Stopping him now meant saving her adopted home and a lot of innocent people.

Blake held her blade to his throat. Despite being defeated and lying helpless beneath her, Torchwick never once lost his defiance. "Ooh, still _feisty_. Sooo… what are we gonna do now?"

She had a few ideas.

"You think a little bow on top is gonna make people forget who you were?" Torchwick asked, leading her on, goading her. "What you've _done_?"

She wished he'd begged for his life instead. Because his defiance was provoking old instincts… reminding her that she _was_ capable of doing terrible things… _necessary_ things.

Adam would've advised the same: to kill the threat. Torchwick had crossed the line and didn't deserve his life. And that thought exacerbated her anger further, because if she _did_ kill Torchwick –sensible as that sounded now- she'd be proving him right: that she couldn't stop being who she'd been before. She'd be proving that her desertion of the White Fang really hadn't made her a better person, as she'd hoped it would.

Huntresses had to kill sometimes. Blake had probably condemned more than one former comrade to die today when she knocked the White Fang soldiers off the top of the train and left them to the Grimm. Yet Torchwick was defenseless. She _could_ subdue him, maybe try to apprehend him rather than kill him.

She knew what she _should_ do, if she was serious about changing herself. But at the same time, it was hard to deny what she _wanted_ to do.

Blake grit her teeth and weighed her options… before the train door opened behind her and Weiss was flung in, knocked unconscious by a blow from her opponent, the hulking White Fang lieutenant.

"So, what's it gonna be Blake?" Torchwick asked, smirking to himself.

She didn't have to decide now. But Torchwick _did_ need to shut up now. Blake kicked the side of his head and knocked him out before moving to help Weiss, once again clashing with her former comrade.

Protecting her friends… protecting those in need of someone to defend them. _That_ was the right thing to do. The comeuppance Torchwick so richly deserved might still be coming, but there was something more important to do first. Once her friends were safe –once their kingdom was safe- then she'd decide Torchwick's fate.

Kicking him had been quite satisfying. Maybe he'd live long enough to be arrested.

* * *

 _Above and Behind A Few Paces Later_

Neo wasn't sure what happened exactly. She had brief flashes of White Fang recruits and Grimm and some sort of flaming projectile vaguely in the shape of a dog. But she blinked, again and again, moving out of the path of battle. She kept trying to reorient herself and get back to the lead train car and find Roman, but she couldn't find the correct path to return to him. She just kept having to push herself away, losing control of her course and tumbling through the gap between one piece of the material plane and another, eventually spiraling so far away she wasn't sure where she ended up… only that she crashed into something hard and knocked herself for a loop.

She came to hearing a loud and repetitive siren, quickly clamoring to her feet, groggy and unsteady as she was. She looked for police or private security or strobes or cars, but saw only an empty street. In the distance she could see downtown Vale, and Bullheads moving towards it from Vale, a group of Nevermores circling around.

The Grimm had breached as planned. The kingdom defenses were responding faster than they were supposed to… they weren't caught as off-guard as they were meant to be.

They'd launched early. There might've still been teachers –and students- and huntsmen in Beacon able to launch a counteroffensive. And all the soldiers from Atlas were dropping in to help repel the Grimm attack.

Roman… if the train hit its mark, Roman was right in the center of all of that. And the White Fang numbers were already substantially reduced. At _best_ Roman was stuck between a horde of Grimm and retaliating forces from Vale and Atlas with fewer allies than he expected. And without Neo to watch his back… he was effectively alone.

Neo frantically tried to text him as she staggered towards the battle. She had to get a hold of him, she had to know he was alive. No response.

More ships were heading over from Beacon. Surely they didn't have enough trained huntsmen to merit so much air traffic… which meant…

Which meant Jaune might be…

Neo broke into a run, no matter how much it hurt to move. She frantically tried to send him a text too, only to stop herself before she could send it. If he knew… if she told him the truth… and told him what she knew was happening…

She tried not to reveal herself. She tried to play the part Jaune expected from her, and made a very generic statement: _Jaune, there's Grimm in the kingdom!_

Still nothing. At best he was fighting the Grimm or the White Fang. He was fighting on the side with a numerical advantage, but he was still a huntsman-in-training rather than a properly trained warrior. If the battle were to have any casualties on Beacon's side…

Neo forced herself to keep running, to save the ones she cared about… both of them.

* * *

When she finally reached the epicenter of the breach, the entrance Roman had created from the tunnel to Mountain Glenn had already been sealed. What few Grimm stragglers remained were being efficiently destroyed by Atlesian knights and there was no trace of the White Fang at all.

A perimeter was set up by the Atlesian knights, and Neo was on the outside looking in. Moving through the crowd she fell back on old habits, disguising her appearance with a bit of black in her hair and green in her eyes. She didn't want anyone pointing her out… and the instinct paid off, because Neo recognized the same four Beacon kids –including the blonde Neo defeated earlier, still alive- on the other side of the barricade of robot soldiers, celebrating with other students and their teachers.

Roman was being led to a bullhead, where a group of Atlesian knights waited to take custody of him. Neo instantly recognized the victorious hunters leading him in: Cinder's two minions, willingly handing over their 'ally' to the authorities.

"Oh, I can't believe you caught me- you've _really_ taught me the error of my ways," she faintly heard Roman mock as Cinder's cronies left him to the tender mercies of Atlas. As he was led into the bullhead he remarked: "Hey, watch the hat!"

It wasn't possible. Roman _couldn't_ be caught. This had to be a plan, this had to be…

He'd been alone and surrounded by enemies. Neo hadn't been there to save him when he needed her. And Cinder -either by accident or by design- had left him to take the fall, sending her own minions to ensure they handed him over. As Neo thought on the reasons for this, she watched the green-haired girl walk over to the four Beacon girls and greet them fondly, ingratiating herself, possibly befriending them.

A means to an end no doubt, but still one that irked Neo. Cinder's minions got to take the credit for capturing the notorious criminal who'd threatened Vale for months and had an in with the students who'd been chasing him all along. Cinder's disguise was stronger than ever, because her forces helped put a stop to the very man she'd directed to launch this attack and came out of the breach looking like heroes.

Neo resisted the urge to leap over the barricade and attack, even as she saw Roman disappearing into the cargo bay of the bullhead. She might've been able to reach him and break him from his bindings, but then she'd be surrounded by hunters and hunters-in-training and robot soldiers, and she couldn't hope to defeat them all.

Roman would approve of her not intervening now. He knew a losing hand when he saw one… it was why he'd sided with Cinder in the first place.

And now she had no more need of him, and he'd been discarded.

Which left Neo… _alone_.

Not that. _Anything_ but that. She felt herself reaching out towards the bullhead, only to see it liftoff, to know Roman was being carted away… possibly to be taken all the way across the sea to rot in a jail in Atlas…

No, no, no, no, no…

She had to calm down. She had to suppress what she was feeling now and not act rashly. She couldn't help him now. She had to retreat and regroup and find a way to work out from under this unexpected circumstance.

But regroup with whom? Their 'allies' had already sold Roman out. Roman had taken great pains to conceal Neo's existence, and anyone who could confirm she was still alive was trapped underground with a bunch of Grimm. If any White Fang survived that, the best they could report to Cinder was that Neo went missing in the very same situation that had already killed so many.

She could flee. No one would come looking for her. She could escape. She could _survive_.

But what was the point of surviving if she had to be alone? What was the point of running when there was nowhere to run to and no one to run with?

It was overtaking her again, the thought of being apart from him. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to will the pain away, to not let it enter. But as much as she struggled, she couldn't deny it was overtaking her. She couldn't deny reality.

She had to deny it. Anything was preferable to this feeling. Anything but to be alone.

Neo heard something… not the inquiries of the crowd of Vale citizens or the roar of ship engines, but a faint buzzing... emanating from her pocket. Neo glanced down and pulled it up in her trembling hand, barely able to read the message on the screen: _Are you okay?_

Jaune.

Neo looked past her Scroll to the group of Beacon students. She saw Jaune standing there with his three teammates, staring at his own Scroll, waiting for her reply.

If she didn't answer, he might reach the worst conclusion. He might believe her dead too. There'd be no one left to chase her if her only other tie thought she'd been killed.

But then she'd be alone. And right now, that sounded like a worse fate than someone realizing she'd escaped that operation. She needed not to be alone. She needed someone she cared about to remind her that she wasn't.

She should've tempered her words and measured them carefully. But she was so eager to respond she ended up being honest. She typed only one word: _No_.

Jaune replied almost immediately. _Are you hurt?_

She'd suffered a wound, but that wasn't what troubled her right now. _I'm scared._

She hadn't admitted fear to anyone but Roman. She hadn't ever planned to let anyone else see this side of her. Not even Jaune.

Now she had no choice. Now he was the only option she had.

 _I'll try and find you. Where are you?_

She shouldn't tell him. Roman was still alive and might want to return to his place before he and Neo left it for good. Neo never intended to show Jaune where she lived anyway… even if she might've entertained the idea she never seriously thought things would progress so far.

She couldn't be alone. Neo slowly sent him the address, and implored him to hurry.

Neo looked across the barricade as Jaune informed the tall redhead, showing her the text chain on his Scroll. She waved him off and Jaune broke into a run, moving quickly despite having already exerted himself in battle. He rushed ahead towards a place he'd never been while his kingdom could well have Grimm still wandering about that might catch him vulnerable…

Still he ran. To save her.

* * *

 _Beacon, Shortly_

Pyrrha was disappointed that Jaune wouldn't join them to celebrate the victory, but she understood his act. His friend was rattled by an unexpected Grimm attack and he'd gone to help her. Pyrrha might've tried to convince him to stay –they hadn't been told whether their missions were canceled or not, after all- but she couldn't question his motives. Protecting people was what they were all planning to do with their lives, after all.

Team RWBY came off a bit worse than JNPR had, as they'd been up the entire previous night and fought hard against a lot of enemies. JNPR dropped in after the fact and did their share, but RWBY had borne the brunt long before that. Yang in particular was pretty banged up, having fought against a legion of White Fang, Torchwick's subordinate, and then got knocked for a loop by a group of Nevermores. She was trying to sleep it off, much to Nora's disappointment. All four girls on their sister team were just trying to rest, leaving Ren to once again manage Nora's energy: energy that was _supposed_ to be geared towards a mission but now had few outlets without her favorite playmates to split her time with.

It was unusual to see Yang brought low, though she was in her usual good spirits. Very few people were strong enough to give her any trouble, and this was the second time she'd been frustrated by Torchwick's minion Neo.

Neo…

Pyrrha shook her head. It was just a strange coincidence. _Surely_ the girl scared of Grimm invading the kingdom wasn't the same girl who could defeat Yang in single combat.

And… much as Pyrrha liked Jaune, presumably if she was taking revenge for Roman Torchwick she'd target someone like Blake, who'd defeated him personally. Jaune and Torchwick had never even _met_.

Though she did wonder how long Jaune would be gone… hopefully he'd calm the poor girl down and be back before some teacher barged in and told JNPR to get back in the field and start their mission properly.

Either that or before she missed him _too_ much.

* * *

 _Torchwick's Apartment_

Neo didn't have to wait long for him to arrive. Apparently his sense of direction had improved since the night they met. When she opened the door and saw a concerned Jaune waiting in the hallway, she immediately rushed over to hug him tightly, burying her head into his chest, even against the metal armor plate waiting there.

Jaune returned her embrace for a few moments before suggesting she hold off just long enough to remove his armor. She didn't want to let him go, but Neo complied, waving him inside while he removed the heavy plate.

Once Jaune set his armor and his sword on the carpet beside her couch, Neo tackled him into the cushion and wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly. Once she found a comfortable groove in his chest to rest her head she just lay there, listening to his heart beating.

She'd done this on a hundred different nights with Roman, feeling his warmth, taking in his scent, listening to the noises his body made. His presence reminded her –more even than the comfortable seat or the roof over her head- that she wasn't struggling to survive on the streets anymore. Jaune wasn't quite as tall and lanky, but she didn't take long to adjust to him. His presence soothed her troubled mind, pushing the oppressive fear further with every heartbeat.

Jaune indulged her, never upsetting Neo's grasp save to find a better position to orient himself. He just let her cling to him, for however long she needed. He probably didn't know how badly she needed this, but he did it just the same.

Neo finally leaned up to look at him with a smile. He smiled back down at her, only to reach down with one big finger and brush a tear from just below her left eye. Neo hadn't even realized… she looked down at the wet patch in his hoodie, surprised by the emotion elicited.

She didn't want to cry. Not now. Not with him.

Neo relaxed her grip –if only slightly- so she could move further up, so they'd be at eye level. For a long time she just lay on top of him, looking down into his eyes.

She felt the tears welling up this time. She didn't want him to see that again. She needed him to focus on something else, just as Neo needed her own thoughts to be elsewhere, away from the sorrow that Jaune had managed to push from her.

For a brief moment she recalled Roman's three lessons: never believe, never trust, never hope. They'd served her well when she was forced to be away from him, but here... with Jaune...

She believed in him. She trusted him. She hoped...

She'd been bold before and that worked well. And she knew what she wanted to do now.

Neo leaned down and -after a moment's hesitation hovering over his lips- kissed him.

She heard Jaune's eyes widen. She felt him gasp into her mouth. Neo thought this act might take him by surprise, but perhaps not _quite_ this much…

She discreetly reached up to rub her eye and remove any tear before drawing back, just in case she'd gone too far. She watched him carefully, trying to gauge his reaction, thinking maybe… _hoping_ this might be different.

Neo had been here before and it hadn't ended as she meant it to. The look in Jaune's eye suggested he'd been here before too, and just as caught off guard, just as conflicted, just as uncertain.

But the look in his eyes changed from uncertainty to a fierce determination as he reached his hands down to her waist, gently moving her as he sat up so they'd both be upright. Once they were comfortable there, with Neo still seated in his lap, he brought both hands up from her midsection to either of her cheeks. He hesitated no further and went on the aggressive himself, taking the initiative to kiss her.

There'd be no tears now. There'd be no more doubt for her here. Her faith in him –her _hope_ \- had been rewarded.

Neo wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck and pushed him back into his seat, enjoying the feeling for a while longer, before withdrawing from him, if even reluctantly. Instead she reached over to take his hand in hers' and hoisted him up from the couch, leading him towards her room.

Jaune hesitated again. "Neo… are you-?"

Neo pressed her index finger to his lips and shook her head. There were no words needed.

He'd never been here before. Neither had she. But she wouldn't doubt. Nor would she let him doubt in turn.

She loved him. She wanted to show him how much.

Jaune stopped fighting and followed her inside. Once he sat down upon her bed, Neo kissed him again and curled up beside him, and there were no more words.

* * *

 _Beacon, Later_

Pyrrha sent him another message. She didn't think there was any reason to be worried, but she couldn't help it. Jaune was apart from her again, and not having him sleeping a few feet away made it hard for her to find sleep herself. Even _Nora_ was asleep now, and considering all the energy she'd had to burn off that was an impressive feat. Ren was probably somewhere between asleep and comatose after trying to contain that all day, and since each had their partner close at hand neither had the need to wait up.

Pyrrha's restlessness did have one benefit, however… she heard commotion coming from the RWBY dorm and took notice when a tall blonde emerged from within, rotating her right shoulder back and forth with one wince after another. Grateful for the chance to help her friend (and the distraction from worrying after Jaune) Pyrrha poked her head out and inquired: "Are you all right?"

"Couldn't sleep," Yang explained. "Been trying all day… got pretty banged up by that short girl working for Torchwick. I think I sprained something when I hit the roof of the train car."

Pyrrha emerged from her dorm into the hall, reaching over to examine Yang's shoulder. She'd dealt with sprains and stress fractures all throughout her time as a junior champion in Mistral, and set to work finding the source of Yang's pain. Once Pyrrha found the right spot, she set to work massaging the affected area, helping Yang move her arm back and forth to keep the muscles moving back and forth and loosen up a bit. A few minutes of this and Yang was soon swinging wildly about with the vigor Pyrrha expected of her.

"That girl did this to you?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yeah, really caught me by surprise," Yang explained. "She's so tiny –shorter even than Weiss- and she still threw me for a loop."

Yang was trying to sound assertive, showing some pride even in defeat, but it wasn't quite the swagger Pyrrha expected from her blonde friend. She wasn't letting on, but Yang had definitely _suffered_ from her loss -and whether she admitted it or not- it bothered her.

She already knew the answer, but Pyrrha still wanted to confirm it. "You said her name was Neo, right?"

"Yeah," Yang nodded. "She's got kind of an interesting look: has three colors in her hair and two different colored eyes. I'd think she looked kinda cute if she weren't working for a jerk like Torchwick."

Pyrrha's heart sank. She remembered Jaune mentioning something, about how Neo's heterochromia reminded him of his sister. At the time, the thought had _encouraged_ Pyrrha that maybe Jaune wasn't romantically interested in the girl.

Now Pyrrha's mind was torn in two directions about what might've occurred. A part of her –a part growing smaller and quieter with every passing thought- believed that Jaune had indeed charmed a pretty girl and simply lost track of time in finding her. Pyrrha didn't automatically assume they'd… _done_ anything, but the longer he was away the harder it was for Pyrrha to think they'd done _nothing_.

Alternatively, the girl he'd befriended really _was_ the same girl who'd hurt Yang, and Pyrrha had known about her for weeks and never told her friends about the potential danger that she might've been able to prevent. And now she'd led Jaune away and he went to meet her alone… possibly to be injured as well.

She didn't want to acknowledge either possibility. She didn't want to know.

But she _had_ to know now. It wasn't just Jaune she had to protect now.

This wasn't about petty feelings of jealousy or inferiority. This was about doing what she'd trained to do; what she'd chosen to do. This was about defending from a threat.

In the text chain Jaune had received an address. If she could reach him –or at least find his Scroll- she had somewhere to look, and finally see this girl for herself.

* * *

 _The Past_

Neo never thought she'd have so much trouble sleeping in a warm bed. She didn't feel cold anymore, but she'd still wake in the middle of the night searching for something she didn't have… and something she _could_ have, if she wanted it enough.

She grew tired of waking. She wanted to see if she could sleep through the night, once she added the element that she'd been missing for so long.

Neo stepped into his room and sat down beside him in his bed. She prodded him gently, and though he was a bit groggy he didn't seem to mind her waking him. She reached over to him, and he made space in his bed to accommodate her.

While lying beside him he tried to roll over and face away, but Neo pulled him back and made him face her. She held his gaze and leaned in close, searching for a particular response.

He reached up his finger to her lips, gently pushing her back. He told her that she didn't owe him anything, and that she didn't need to pay for the accommodations he'd given to her. She alone he gave of himself to and she was welcome in this place; that it was her home as much as it was his'.

She didn't know if he simply wasn't interested or if he was less willing to express his feelings than Neo was. Either way she accepted his words and withdrew, though she couldn't help but cuddle up beside him all the same.

She decided that he didn't love her quite as she loved him. But he _did_ love her, enough to welcome her into his home and to take her under his wing without demanding a toll. She alone he placed trust in; she alone he was honest with.

That was okay. It was okay his love was different to hers', so long as it was there for her to find.

Neo nestled herself to Roman's back and returned to sleep, content with what love she had.

* * *

 _Morning_

Neo had slept through the night when she hadn't expected to… and slept better than she ever had before. She looked down at the bare chest she'd nestled her head upon, then down to the covers concealing them, the only attire draped over their bodies.

She wasn't alone. Jaune had been there for her when she needed someone to be. And more than that, his love for her was the love she had for him.

Neo smiled to herself as she adjusted herself slightly, lying beside her lover and thinking she could wait just a little while longer before life went on.


	8. Trust

**Chapter Eight: Trust**

* * *

Jaune wasn't sure why he was having trouble getting comfortable. He'd slept so well before, but now he thought he might prefer to roll over and sleep on his side rather than his back, but there was something in the way, putting weight down on his chest; something light and soft, but solid enough that he couldn't just push it away. When he opened his eyes to see what was pressed up against him and saw a familiar pink and brown mane of hair, memories flooded back to him and the previous night came sharply into focus.

Turned out she liked him after all.

He hadn't known what to expect. He had expected Neo needed reassurance, but he expected to spend more of his time reminding her everything was okay and that there was no more reason to be afraid than… well, doing what they'd just done.

He also thought he'd have returned to Beacon before the day's end; it was still only late morning when he'd received Neo's text and early afternoon when he arrived at her apartment. He wasn't sure how long they spent cuddled up on her couch, or how much time they spent after that making out, or how much time they spent after _that_ in this comfortable bed.

It was hard to think of it all as he looked down at the beautiful face sleeping contentedly against his chest. It was hard for him to leave this particular moment and turn his attention elsewhere…

But he had to let his friends know he was okay. Pyrrha was probably worried sick, and if he was gone too long Nora would rip Vale apart searching for him. Jaune shook his head, trying to dispel his wish to simply remain there, before looking over at his jeans on the floor and the Scroll contained within his pocket. If he could just tilt slightly to his right and reach down…

Jaune looked at Neo again, still curled up beside him. He didn't want to wake her, but he really did need to contact his friends…

She'd understand that. She'd been pretty amenable to Jaune's needs before, and he couldn't imagine she'd have an issue with him leaving the bed just long enough to send a text message. But he also couldn't quite lift himself without repositioning her head, and the longer he left Neo lying upon him, the more inclined he was to leave her there.

Still, much as he _wanted_ to just stay in the moment and pay no more heed to this troubling sense of duty, his better nature won out and he thought of a way to wake her as gently as he could, so she'd know what he was about to get up to do. He wasn't sure what she might think if he just climbed out of bed, even only briefly. He wasn't sure what he was _supposed_ to do after he did… _this_.

Jaune moved his free hand over to Neo's forehead, brushing away one of her bangs. His middle and index finger lingered on her forehead, just above her left eye, as he took in the sight of her sleeping face. Once again he was tempted to just remain there, to forget there was anything else in the world but what was right in front of him.

He'd already enjoyed enough stolen time. He had to put minds at ease, at the very least. So Jaune adjusted his position slightly, Neo sliding a bit down his chest. Once he could freely lift himself and reposition his neck, Jaune leaned down to kiss Neo's forehead, his two fingers running gently down her cheek. How he wished he had his Scroll now, so he could preserve this sight somehow…

Neo scrunched up her face as she stirred. Jaune focused his attention on each of her eyes as she looked up at him, knowing how she needed to be looked upon. She blinked a few times, then smiled up at him, reaching a hand over to squeeze his fingers, holding the back of his hand to her cheek and nuzzling him there.

It seemed she'd enjoyed herself too. That was a promising sign. Jaune smiled back and untangled his other arm from beneath Neo and raised it up in her peripheral vision, gesturing lifting up. Neo got the hint and lifted herself, though when the covers began to slide down on her small frame, she quickly reached a hand down to hoist them back up and cover herself. Jaune couldn't help but smile at her surprising shyness; she'd been a lot more daring and forward beforehand.

Jaune slid out of bed, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Neo frown. No doubt she was a bit unused to this situation too, unsure of how to proceed, but Jaune put her mind at ease when he returned a moment later with his pants in tow, digging out and then showing Neo his Scroll and pointing to a bunch of missed messages.

Neo just stared at the screen for a long moment before realizing what he was getting at. She didn't mind so much when he'd rejoined her, and pressed herself up to his back, nuzzling at his neck and shoulder again. Now that he'd rejoined her there, she was smiling again.

"Oh, man, I really should've told them not to wait up," Jaune mused, counting more than a dozen texts and two missed phone calls from Pyrrha. "Can you give me a sec, Neo? I'm just gonna let her know I'm okay."

Neo wasn't eager to let go of him again, but eventually she complied, gathering up her bedsheet and wrapping it around herself in a facsimile of a robe. Jaune pulled his jeans on and stood up, stepping back into the living room and starting a call.

It was still early, but Pyrrha _was_ an early riser. Hopefully she'd gotten a good sleep at some point, but her last text was only a few hours old…

* * *

She should get some sleep. She knew she'd had _some_ , because there were gaps in her memory of staring up at the wall and tossing and turning. At some point she'd been tired enough that worry hadn't kept her awake, but the result was even worse than if she'd simply been up all night. She was tired and grumpy and concerned all at the same time, mostly because Pyrrha wasn't sure what she was supposed to think. She had a bit of a headache from her lack of sleep, and the slightest noise drew her attention, from Nora muttering about pancakes in her sleep to Weiss waking across the hall and trying to encourage her teammates to readjust their sleep schedules after their long night. It all reminded Pyrrha she was awake and worried and really couldn't seem to change either state of being.

Was Jaune taken? Hurt? Or had he simply decided to stay the night with the pretty girl whose life he happened to save last semester?

That didn't necessarily mean what she kept telling herself it meant. But what else did they do? Talk? Watch a movie?

Well, that wasn't so hard to believe. That was how Jaune and Pyrrha spent their nights… more than once they'd fallen asleep watching something in the common room and on more than one night they'd stayed up way too late just talking about life before Beacon, so it could very much be the same with Jaune and Neo.

Or she could be the same Neo who'd nearly killed Yang, and decided to exact some measure of revenge on one of Yang's friends. Maybe Jaune had been her in all along, a patsy she strung along to get close to the girls who'd been chasing after Neo's boss. And now that he was imprisoned, Neo settled for torturing the poor boy who'd done nothing but show her kindness.

Pyrrha should've insisted on going to meet her. Or at least told Jaune she had the same name as an associate of a notorious criminal. She should've done _something_.

Beeping from her Scroll. Her alarm, finally… but she really could use some decent sleep before she tried to start the day and worried anew. Pyrrha reached to her nightstand when she spotted the name and profile pic on the screen, and immediately snatched her Scroll, shot out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Desperate as she was to hear from him, she still opted to try not wake her teammates if it could be helped.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha frantically inquired, hardly able to believe it.

"Pyr, sorry it took me so long to get back to you," Jaune observed. It was such a relief to finally hear his voice Pyrrha managed to bury any displeasure she felt at his casual tone; he apparently hadn't realized how much trouble he'd caused her.

"Where are you?" Pyrrha asked immediately, unable to contain herself as she pressed him further: "Where have you been?"

"I'm at Neo's apartment," Jaune explained. "We… uh… spent some time together after I found her yesterday afternoon."

She didn't know exactly what the words meant, but Pyrrha immediately knew what Jaune had conveyed. His pause, his tone, his clumsy exposition… Pyrrha's grip tightened on the phone as she thought about what it meant. Still, she managed to stay composed, at least vocally- her face was wearing a deep, judgmental frown. "You worried us all, you know. We didn't think you were going to _disappear_ on us…"

At the time, it had been the furthest thought from her mind. When Jaune showed her the text chain, Pyrrha's only thought was that the girl needed help and the person she trusted _should_ be the one to go and help her. It wasn't until he'd been away a few hours that Pyrrha's possessive instinct of him had asserted itself, and she'd begun to wonder about where he ended up and what might've occurred.

This was what she'd _wanted_ to know. Until she knew it.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry," Jaune acknowledged, sincere in his apology just as he always was… "We really did lose track of time. I'll… um, I'm not sure how best to explain it."

Pyrrha was already picturing it, though she tried furiously not to. "Well, I don't want to intrude-" oh how badly she lied when she was upset, "-but I really would appreciate if you would return as soon as you could." She thought of a good reason to call him back; something that would be logical and convincing. She couldn't appeal to his affection for her, not when his affection was so clearly elsewhere. "We still don't know if we're going to be sent on mission or not. We're waiting to hear back from Professor Goodwitch."

It wasn't entirely untrue, but it had been a lie of omission. Goodwitch hadn't explicitly _said_ anything to them about cancelling the first year missions that hadn't departed, but the school seemed to be on ready alert for kingdom defense, so it didn't seem likely they were going anywhere.

"Oh, man, I completely forgot!" Jaune agreed. "I'll get back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Please do," Pyrrha requested, allowing herself a small measure of relief to hear him announce his intent, before adding: "Please say 'hi' to Neo for me and remind her I'd still like to meet her."

"Oh, you bet!" Jaune enthusiastically agreed. "I can't wait to tell you guys everything!" Normally Pyrrha loved to hear him being so sincere. This time the words _hurt_ because of how genuine they were.

"We're all eager to see her," Pyrrha forced herself to say, though her tone had become increasingly formal with each word, as she shifted towards the practiced, focused voice she used for media and public relations, burying away emotion and focusing on the task at hand. "Hurry back, Jaune."

When she hung up, she squeezed the Scroll so tight she saw the metal begin to warp. In trying to push her emotion below the surface, her Semblance had poked its way out, her anger and disappointment manifesting itself in her grip.

He was okay. That was what she should focus on.

But now she had to know, and _would_ know. And if her suspicion was confirmed…

She never once wanted to affect Jaune's happiness. She never wanted to intrude on this part of his life that had clearly been good for him. But if Neo really _was_ the girl Pyrrha thought she was… well ensuring Jaune was safe superseded ensuring Jaune was happy.

Pyrrha sent him one final text while she (hopefully) still had his attention. _Jaune, the others were curious. Can you send me a picture of her?_

One way or another, she'd know for sure.

And if she was right… well, this would end. It didn't matter now if she took Jaune's smile, so long as she saved his life.

Or so she told herself.

Pyrrha set her Scroll on the sink countertop and then turned to savagely punch into the opposite wall, before bashing her head against the paint. Anything to keep her mind from the pain that she'd tried so hard to push down and not reveal to him.

* * *

Neo wasn't sure why out of all the scattered garments she went for, she opted to pull on Jaune's hoodie. Maybe because it was warm. Maybe because it smelled like him. Maybe it was the little bunny mascot. It certainly wasn't for any added mobility, because the sweater was so large it fell down below her knees and her hands couldn't fit out the sleeves without her rolling them up considerably. When she tried to lower the hood she honestly thought she might get lost and trapped somewhere within it, so Neo eventually wiggled her head back out and fussed with her hair to dig it all out from the depths. Her hair was already so tangled and messy, and now she had to fumble with it a bit more to get it to a presentable state.

 _Click._

Neo immediately whirled around, searching for an assailant. But instead she found Jaune, still only wearing his jeans, holding up his Scroll to snap a picture. He smiled at her, closing his eyes.

Neo had fallen back on instinct and thought someone had pulled a gun on her. Turned out it was worse: Jaune had _snapped a picture_.

Neo immediately raced over to him, reaching for his Scroll. Jaune held it up over his head, and there was no possible way she could reach it now. She started pounding on his chest instead, but couldn't quite bring herself to actually _hurt_ him… certainly not while his chest was bare and she wanted to keep pressing her hands against it. Still, she had to let him know he couldn't just go and _do that_!

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," Jaune laughed. "I wanted to get one of you when you were asleep, but… I didn't want to risk waking you."

Neo was appreciative of that, but concerned just the same. Jaune now had the only photographic record of her (that she knew of) and not even in a disguised state! Aside from Roman's Scroll contact, there was no other evidence of her existence in Vale! If that ended up in the hands of the authorities, it wouldn't just implicate Neo, it could be used against Roman!

Jaune reached up to his Scroll and typed. Neo heard the familiar _whoosh_ of him sending a file from one Scroll to another and her eyes widened.

Had he just-?

No, no, no, he couldn't. She'd been concerned before; now she was _upset_. Neo's eyes narrowed into a tight glare, and Jaune frantically waved his hands back and forth. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I just sent it to _you!_ "

Neo paused. To _her_?

Sure enough, she heard a beep from her Scroll somewhere on the floor with the rest of her clothing. Jaune pointed helpfully to it, and Neo relaxed –ever so slightly- and walked over to pick the little datapad off the ground and saw a new text from Jaune: a pic of Neo poking her head out of his hoodie, from the neck up. Her hair was a bit messy (much to her chagrin) but the angle was flattering, at least.

"I was thinking about using this as your new profile pic," Jaune explained. "Do you like it?"

Profile pic? He was… he was thinking about keeping a picture of Neo?

He _wanted_ a picture of her?

She'd never thought… she'd never considered… that maybe such things… that people might want to…

Neo's expression softened as she looked at the image of her, frozen in time, wearing her lover's clothes and enjoying the feel of it…

It seemed so different from the life she'd known before. It was so simple that it boggled her mind.

Eventually she smiled and nodded at him. She did like it. More than that- she liked that he took it. She typed a message into her Scroll and acknowledged this. _Yeah. I think you can keep it._

Jaune smiled back for a moment before turning serious. "Listen… I really want to stay and talk about everything that happened between us last night, but Pyrrha told me my team might still need to go on a mission today. If we do, they'll need me to come back to Beacon. Pyrrha really wants to meet you, by the way."

Neo's expression soured again. Why did he have to bring up his responsibilities _now_? Why couldn't he just go and be all noble and dutiful on a day she wasn't so eager to spend more time with him?

Well, now that she thought about it… she wasn't sure there _would_ be a day she'd be less interested in seeing him. Not now. Not after what they'd shared.

Neo put her game face on and nodded, typing out a reply. _I'm sorry I kept you so long._

"Don't be," Jaune assured her. "I'd stay if I could… you have no idea how much I _wish_ I could."

Oh, he was wrong about that. Still Neo was glad to hear him say it.

"I'll find out whether I have to go out of the kingdom or not tonight," Jaune promised. "Either way I'll text you tonight and let you know. If I can I'll come back right away… I promise."

So far he'd had an excellent track record at keeping his promises. Once again, Neo was inclined to believe him… inclined to _trust_ him. How quickly she'd forgotten Roman's rules when he wasn't there to remind her.

Neo did still worry for him… and she'd find a way to free him if she could, maybe while Jaune was busy with his duties. But she'd also find him again tonight were he free, because spending time with him now… now that was a much higher priority to her. At least a more appealing one.

She leaned over to hug him at his midsection, burying her head in his chest. Jaune returned her embrace, squeezing her tightly.

Neo adjusted her head ever so slightly, looking past Jaune's arm to her Scroll as she began to type him a message: _I lo_ -

She stopped her finger before she finished her thought.

She _should_ tell him. She should make it clear what she felt now. But if she did he'd be on the spot and have to reply. Roman had only verbalized the words to Neo months after they'd met, and even then hadn't meant them in any romantic context. She didn't want Jaune to feel the words leaving his lips were in any way _forced_ ; he was the only one who could actually say them, and she was eager to hear him say them.

But not today. Not yet. So she'd use another message to get a similar point across.

Neo looked up at him, reaching up with her other hand to pull him down to her so she could kiss him again. Jaune eagerly returned the greeting, holding to her chin for several beautiful moments.

Eventually he retracted from her and sheepishly noted: "I… uh, I'm gonna need my hoodie back."

Neo may have been enjoying the more sincere emotion at play, but she still thought it might be fun to toy with him; it meant he'd be forced to stay a while longer. She cast him a very leading smile and typed: _I guess you'll have to take it off me_.

She savored the sight of Jaune turning red, before pulling back from him, subtly leading him by his hand back to her so she could steal away one more moment.

* * *

Blake was the last one to rise. Ruby was quick to comply with Weiss's request that they get out of bed and headed out with her to find breakfast, but Blake just reached over to a rafter and grabbed a book to curl up with for a good few hours. Yang was still doing stretches in their dorm room to affect her injured shoulder, and she was making such a distraction that Blake's sensitive hearing couldn't make out the sound of distinct footsteps. Instead she saw Yang pause in her exercise to wave at him out in the hallway: "Welcome back, Ladykiller."

Blake knew that one. Yang had a bad habit of making the same jokes over and over.

"Hey," Jaune greeted, smiling warmly at her. "You feeling better? I remember you looked pretty rough after the breach."

"Oh, you saying there was something wrong with the way I looked?" Yang teased, no doubt trying to provoke some sort of flustered reaction from her fellow blonde. Blake rolled her eyes as she discreetly made her way down from the top bunk.

To Blake and Yang's mutual surprise, Jaune simply smiled at her and said: "I'm glad you're okay. I knew you'd be back on your feet."

Yang was so taken aback she didn't have a ready comeback. _Yang_ was the one left surprised as she meekly replied: "T-thanks?"

"Hey, Blake," Jaune casually greeted as he stepped over to his own dorm room, using his Scroll to unlock it. He'd barely taken two steps inside when Nora tackled him to the ground with a massive glomp of a hug, going into a long tirade about how much she'd missed him. Jaune hugged her back and laughed, patiently apologizing for worrying her.

When Blake stepped towards the doorframe beside Yang, she caught a whiff of a strong scent from Jaune… a familiar scent she couldn't quite place, but not one she knew as well as each of her friends. More to the point, the scent seemed… _feminine_.

Nora seemed to notice it too, as her dramatic wailing had abruptly subsided after a few subtle twitches of her nose. Nora glanced up at Yang and Blake, reaching a similar conclusion. Yang had no such advantage, but she was so taken aback by his surprising, genuinely _confident_ reaction that once she saw Nora's expression she sensed that _something_ was amiss.

"Something going on with Jaune?" Yang quietly whispered to Blake.

"I don't know," Blake answered honestly. "He does seem… different." Then it hit her hard.

Sun told Blake about a misadventure Jaune had while they were chasing after Roman, and how he'd ended up at the ramen shop with Sun and Neptune with lipstick smudged on his cheek. Then Jaune had told Blake herself about another girl he'd been interested in; a girl that Blake had initially mistaken to be herself, much to her embarrassment when she'd suddenly felt compelled to acknowledge her interest in him by kissing him.

He'd been cool about it and not made things weird between them. Now… well now Blake was suddenly thinking Jaune was much _cooler_ than she'd ever given him credit for. Because it very much seemed like he'd made a new friend and come to know her _very_ well.

Blake took hold of Yang's arm and ushered her closer as she moved over to gently prod the door shut. Yang glanced at Blake, then back to the closed door before remarking: "You're kidding me."

Blake shook her head. "Ladykiller indeed."

Yang began speculating on who it might be and what had occurred, but Blake stopped listening to her almost as soon as she'd begun. Her mind instead moved to what this might mean for Jaune and Pyrrha, or Jaune and…

She almost thought of herself. There was no reason to now. More than ever, there was no reason.

But the thought refused to leave her, which only made it that much harder to listen to Yang…

* * *

Pyrrha detected the scent quickly too, exchanging a brief look with Nora and shaking her head back and forth in a barely perceptible motion. Nora got the hint, though she continued to stare at the back of Jaune's head in unflattering disbelief. Pyrrha was briefly tempted to hug him now that he'd finally returned, but didn't want to take in any more of that unfamiliar smell wafting off him.

"Glad you could join us," Pyrrha observed, before mentally scolding herself for the unintended harshness of her tone, returning to try and measure that sense of resentment. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, man," Jaune whimsically replied. "Everything's _great_. Neo… man, I want to tell you guys everything."

Pyrrha didn't really want to hear it. More than anything she didn't want to hear it.

She put on a brave smile. "Please."

Jaune sat down on his bed and began. Nora and Ren listened every bit as intently as Pyrrha, and Nora couldn't quite suppress a bit of interest. Pyrrha only listened for the relevant details: the general location of the apartment, the timeline of events, and how genuine Neo's response had seemed to be.

When he finished explaining how he'd mentioned the need to come back, Jaune turned his attention to Pyrrha. "Oh, and have you heard from Glynda? Did she say we still were heading out of the kingdom?"

"Not… yet," Pyrrha managed, before sensing an opportunity to act. "You should get yourself cleaned up in case we are."

"Good idea," Jaune agreed, heading towards the closet. He set his Scroll down on his desk before picking out a new outfit to wear. On his way into the bathroom, Jaune poked his head back out and told them: "I told her you guys were looking forward to meeting her; if we're still here this week, I'll see if I can set it up!"

Pyrrha nodded again but did not reply. Once Jaune closed the door and the shower started running, Nora poked her head over Pyrrha's shoulder. "Glynda said all the first year missions were canceled until all the security concerns were taken care of."

"Oh… right," was Pyrrha's (very) weak reply.

Nora reached a hand to Pyrrha's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes… yes, I'm fine," Pyrrha tried to assure her.

Nora knew better. But she played along just as she always did. "Hey, Ren, let's go make Jaune something to eat; he's been gone all night, he's probably starving! I know I am…"

"You do realize we have a fully stocked cafeteria we could take him to," Ren dryly noted.

"Yeah, but your food is way better!" Nora argued, before taking hold of his collar and pulling him along. "Come on! Let's try those quintuple layer pancakes again!"

"Nora, the last time I tried that the ceiling was covered in batter for a week…" Ren protested, but eventually he relented as Nora dragged him out the door.

Pyrrha turned her attention to Jaune's Scroll. She remembered he'd told her there was no password; he could never remember it when he tried to use one.

She felt so dubious as she took hold of the device, activating it. She felt like she was betraying his trust in her, and before today she'd never considered –even on her worst day- digging through his private information like this.

His safety before his happiness. She repeated this to herself again and again.

She found the text chain, including the address. There was a profile image of the girl, as Jaune had described her… _and_ as Yang had described her.

Pyrrha snapped a photo of the screen. She stared down at it for several seconds, of a beautiful girl wearing Jaune's Pumpkin Pete hoodie.

His safety before his happiness.

Pyrrha steeled herself and walked across the hall, knocking on the door of the RWBY dorm. When Blake answered, Pyrrha put aside all past animosity she'd felt to her; right now whatever concerns Pyrrha had about Blake snatching Jaune away were secondary to protecting him from a psychopath, even if she _did_ seem genuinely fond of him.

Blake eyed her curiously as Yang wandered over from her bed. Pyrrha held up her Scroll and the photo she'd taken of Neo's profile image. "We need to talk."

* * *

Neo had not been idle. Though she'd spent much of the day quietly listening for word of Roman, she hadn't made it very far. The only concrete information she had was that Roman hadn't yet been moved out of the kingdom; that he'd been held prisoner by Atlas in their flagship. There were rumblings about changes to security arrangements, but the only news of travel were Atlas sending more troops _in_ to Vale, rather than them sending any transports out.

She had time yet. Neo kept an eye on the flagship, but the only bullheads going to it went up and down, back and forth. Unless they were going to drop Roman off on the ground and make themselves vulnerable to be intercepted, they hadn't made any prisoner transfers yet. As near as she could tell, all Atlas was doing was ferrying the general to Beacon and back and sending another ship to resupply.

Neo also took the time to gather her own supplies: ammo, Dust, Lien, and non-perishable food. Once Roman was out she was going to make sure he got safely out of the kingdom. She made sure all that she needed was at the ready.

Now there'd be the hard part of figuring out how to free him. She could probably sneak her way aboard, but she didn't know if her Semblance would fool all those robots patrolling. She spent a few hours envisioning how it might go when she got a new message on her Scroll.

 _Hey, my mission was cancelled!_ Jaune told her, his enthusiasm somehow carrying through to a few tiny words on her screen. _Are you still free for me to come back tonight?_

Her heart lifted at the thought. She really should consider continuing her search for a way to free Roman, but she also didn't want to miss the opportunity to spend time with Jaune again… especially not after the night they had.

 _I'd like that a lot._

It wasn't often she was so genuine. Even with Roman her texts weren't so blunt and honest. Something about Jaune just kept pulling this out of her.

 _My partner Pyrrha really wants to meet you. I told her we'd need some privacy for some of the stuff we need to talk about, but she asked if she could join us for dinner. Think you can squeeze her in?_

She shouldn't. There'd be another set of eyes on her now… another unknown variable. And she wasn't sure how she was going to keep Jaune around when she was _also_ planning to flee with Roman. She shouldn't have allowed it, she should've just savored what time she had with Jaune now.

But it'd make him happy. And Jaune being happy… that would make _her_ happy.

Neo typed: _I hope your partner likes ice cream._

 _Oh, man, I can't wait to see this!_ Jaune followed this up with a few smiling and laughing emoticons, and Neo's heart leapt at the thought of him enthusiastically sharing the news.

Neo was sure she might be wary of the new girl, but Jaune had already told his partner about her and no one had come to kick in her door. So maybe… maybe there was good reason to hope.

She trusted him. She knew he wasn't trying to lead her astray.

Neo finally turned her attention from what little info she had on Atlas and set to cleaning up, straightening out her unruly hair for a brief foray into town.

* * *

Pyrrha returned to the RWBY dorm, making an excuse about having forgotten to tell Yang something. Jaune believed her without question, and Pyrrha only felt worse about betraying his trust. She turned her attention to Yang and Blake and told them the place she was going to meet Neo: an ice cream parlor across from a café Blake visited while briefly on the run at the end of the first semester.

"We know where she'll be and we know where she'll run to," Pyrrha said. "So tell me: what do you want to do?"

Blake and Yang exchanged looks. Blake tried to be pragmatic. "We should tell the police."

"You know how dangerous she is," Yang argued. "The cops couldn't stop the White Fang; you really think they can stop Roman's right hand girl?"

Blake knew she'd say that. So she didn't try _too_ hard to talk her out of it. "She hurt you last time, Yang. Are you sure?"

Yang punched her open left palm with her right hand. "I owe her. I'm getting her back… and I'm bringing her in so she can sit in jail with her boss."

Pyrrha glanced past them at the empty bunks. "Should we tell the others?"

"Are you telling Ren and Nora?" Yang countered.

Pyrrha hung her head. "I didn't want to scare her off… I thought she'd agree if she thought I was the only one joining them. And I don't want to lose the element of surprise… so I didn't tell them."

Blake nodded. It was harsh –harsher than she expected of Pyrrha- but she understood. She rolled with it. "So, how do we do this?"

"We find a good time, and we corner her," Pyrrha told them. "We capture her at the parlor or at her apartment. We end this quick, and we end it tonight."

Blake thought about what lay ahead. Their opponent was unpredictable, dangerous, and mentally unstable. Whatever they did could easily blow up in their faces and all of them –Jaune unknowingly included- were at risk. But Yang was spoiling for a fight, and Blake was just as eager to pull Jaune away from the girl as Pyrrha, even though she couldn't say it aloud. Finally, Blake nodded. "Okay. When?"

* * *

Pyrrha traveled with Jaune by bullhead, listening to him talk about Neo again. She was patient with him, even though the subject matter was difficult to hear. Below them, riding on Yang's motorcycle with Pyrrha's weapons in tow, Blake and Yang made their way to the city on the ground, ostensibly to share a drink at a café Blake had told Yang all about.

Jaune and Pyrrha arrived first and found a table. The place was mostly empty –not too surprising following the Grimm attack- and the staff seemed grateful for the business. Jaune switched to talking about the menu, and this time Pyrrha tried to go along with the conversation, perusing the available items as though she might eat them.

Then at last the final member of their party walked in the door. Jaune stood up and waved to her, and Pyrrha turned her attention to the object of his affections; she'd been waiting a long time to see for herself.

She was quite pretty, Pyrrha had to admit, wearing a lovely, flattering white coat and a low-cut top with brown slacks and white boots. She looked quite dainty, dwarfed by the umbrella she carried. And when she walked up to Jaune and smiled at him, it was hard for her to think that smile was false. She'd felt it form on her lips before when she smiled at Jaune; when she thought about how much she loved him, and how glad she was to have him in her life.

Jaune hugged Neo tightly. Pyrrha put her game face on and tried not to glare.

When he released his grip, Jaune gestured to Pyrrha. "Neo, this is my partner, Pyrrha Nikos. She's a really good friend of mine."

Neo inclined her head, taking in the tall redhead before offering her hand, smiling shyly at Pyrrha too.

Pyrrha saw Yang slide in out of the corner of her eye. She smiled broadly as she took hold of Neo's hand and shook it. "I'm so glad we could finally meet."

It helped that was the truth.

Blake entered next. Once Yang moved to a flanking position, Blake closed the door.

Neo whirled her head around and spotted the Faunus girl sealing the exit. Pyrrha tightened her grip on Neo's hand and held her steady.

Yang tossed Pyrrha Milo and Akouo. Pyrrha caught the polearm in her free hand and drew the shield to mount on her wrist with her Semblance. Neo turned her eyes back to Pyrrha, expression turning fierce as she realized she'd been caught.

"Pyrrha, what are you-" Jaune began before taking note of Blake and Yang. "What are _all_ of you doing?!"

"We wanted to have a word with your new girlfriend, Ladykiller," Yang darkly replied. "Sorry to drop in unannounced."

Blake leveled Gambol Shroud at the side of Neo's head. Yang went on to add: "We know you're not very good at talking… but we thought we could speak a language you'd understand."

Neo turned her eyes towards Jaune, fierceness replaced by quiet, mounting sadness… as the trust shattered within her, her heart right along with it.


	9. Didn't Need To Know

**Chapter Nine: Didn't Need To Know**

* * *

Neo's eyes darted around the room. Jaune's partner Pyrrha Nikos was close enough to impale Neo with her polearm in a single motion and still had one of Neo's arms in her grip. Neo still had her umbrella and could fend off attacks from one of the two student huntresses flanking her –probably the Faunus girl, since she'd be attacking at range- but she couldn't hope to deflect all three if they attacked concurrently. But danger though she was undeniably in, Neo's eyes kept finding their way back to Jaune, who was glancing around at his friends. To his credit, it seemed he was caught off guard by this… but Neo was in the process of questioning all that she thought she knew about Jaune. Knowingly or not, he'd led her into a trap by insisting his partner join them for dinner.

"Okay, guys," Jaune requested, putting up both his hands and patting the air down, trying to signal for calm, "let's talk, okay? Let's just take a moment and explain what on Remnant is going on."

Neo continued to glance about, trying not to let Jaune distract her in case her assailants might capitalize on the distraction. She was already in a pretty rough tactical situation; she didn't need any _more_ disadvantages to work around. It wasn't easy to avoid looking at him –he was central to many of her thoughts at the moment- but she was surrounded, and Jaune could well be persuaded by his friends to turn on her.

An hour ago –a _minute_ ago- she was convinced she could trust Jaune. Now? Now Neo wasn't sure what had come over her to forget the most important lessons Roman had taught her.

Except she _did_ know why she'd been willing to relax her grip… and that just made things hurt so much worse.

"Jaune, you don't know this girl like we do," Blake explained. "She's been working for Roman Torchwick, at least since the beginning of this semester, if not sooner. Sun and I first saw her at the White Fang rally, standing up on stage with her boss."

"The White Fang?" Jaune repeated. "The night we met the White Fang were _attacking_ her!"

Neo had found some good fortune there, at least. The Beacon girls were also working from an incomplete picture, and Jaune had evidence that counteracted that. More importantly, it poked a pretty big hole in what little they had to work with, and sowed further seeds of doubt.

Maybe Jaune would defend her… just as he had the night they met when he thought she'd needed his help and rushed into the fray despite being outmatched.

Neo pushed the thought away. Now was not the time to be optimistic. Now was the time to simply exploit whatever opening she was offered.

"She fought against us when we were on the train," Yang fiercely interjected, gritting her teeth as she focused all her attention on Neo. "She tried to _kill_ me."

"Weiss and I were with her trying to stop the train," Blake added. "She was going to attack us too before Yang intercepted her."

Neo could hardly be blamed for that. The blonde specifically declared her intention to battle Neo singlehandedly. Was she supposed to lie down and die for a foe well beneath her?

"That doesn't make sense," Jaune argued. "Neo texted me the night before we were supposed to leave for our mission, when you guys were already in Mountain Glenn!"

"She texted you _from_ Mountain Glenn you dope!" Yang snapped at him. "She's been playing you all along!"

That wasn't _entirely_ untrue. Though Neo had eventually abandoned her intention to use Jaune as an in to reach the members of Team RWBY after they'd continued to vex Roman (and now she was wondering how things might've played out differently if she hadn't), she'd never intended to reveal the _whole_ truth to him. She simply hadn't envisioned a future where she'd admitted to her life of misdeeds and she waited for him to offer her forgiveness and atonement.

She hadn't spent much time thinking about the future at all. The present was too immediate. And until this moment, the present with Jaune had also been inviting and comfortable. Neo always knew she was trying to perform a tricky balancing act in pursuing a relationship with the boy, but for so long things had gone well and she'd lost sight of the possibility of things going badly.

Another mistake, another lesson learned.

Jaune turned his attention to his partner, reaching his hands to Nikos' own wrist, trying to convince her to release her grip on Neo's hand. If Pyrrha Nikos let go of her, Neo wouldn't have an additional physical contact to compensate for and could blink away.

She could simply retreat from this without hurting them. It wasn't her usual strategy and she might receive an errant shot from _one_ of them on her way out, but it would make for a fast exit and there'd be no chance of Jaune being hurt. She could do him that small kindness for the happiness he brought her, and the efforts he'd been going to in her defense.

"Jaune," Pyrrha patiently replied, "I know- I know she means a great deal to you. I know you… you _think_ that you know her. But _listen_ to us. _Trust_ us: she's not who you think she is."

Neo was accustomed to listening, and the way Pyrrha's voice wavered… the word choice she'd gone with that she strangled to push out her mouth… maybe she had an ulterior motive for taking Neo out of the picture. Maybe she thought she could remove some _competition_.

"And trust _me_ ," Jaune requested. "That we don't have to fight each other. Whatever the problem is, whatever you think Neo has done, we can _talk about it_."

Jaune turned his attention back to Neo, offering her his hand. "Please, just humor them. Please, just let them know you're not this… whoever it is they seem to think you are."

His hand was reaching towards her left, towards her umbrella. Was he trying to disarm her? Were the words Neo had always thought so genuine just a carefully layered trap like the one she now found herself in?

She was tempted to trust him. She _wanted_ to believe he would protect her, because he had from the first day they met.

But if she gave up her weapon…

"Jaune, I don't know what she's told you but you _know_ us," Yang argued. "Do you really think we're just trying to screw up your date?"

The blonde was little more than raging emotions, desperately seeking to avenge the loss of face Neo had dealt her. If she could prolong this a little, maybe she could capitalize on that… let the bruiser spoil for a fight long enough that she'd snap and attack Neo, even while she was seemingly defenseless.

But then the Faunus did something surprising, lowering her weapon. "Fine," she agreed. "Let her take out her Scroll and tell us her story. We'll give her a chance."

One avenue of escape was open to Neo now. With no gunfire to charge into, she could make a break for the door. Her instincts screamed at her to take the opportunity given.

"Blake," Yang sneered, still refusing to take her eyes off Neo, "do you really think-?"

"I think we should give her a chance to explain," Blake interjected. "Maybe she had her reasons for working with Torchwick… maybe she didn't know what he was or how far he'd fallen. I've been there: I know what it means to keep following someone even when you know you shouldn't."

Right, the Faunus used to be part of the White Fang. That sympathy could be genuine, but she was _much_ harder to read than Jaune. Unlike Jaune, the Faunus girl's pitch and inflection didn't change very much. She was probably just as comfortable lying as she was telling the truth.

Yang hadn't relaxed her guard at all, and Pyrrha was still holding fast to Neo's hand. If Nikos just released that grip, then escape would be open to her.

"Pyrrha," Jaune requested, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder, "please."

Neo recognized the look in the redhead's eye: how she _coveted_ the touch she felt now. And again Neo wondered if she'd comply with the request or fight alongside her more anxious comrade to remove this other suitor for the heart she wanted to win.

Pyrrha closed her eyes and released her grip on Neo's hand. Two of her three adversaries now stood down and she'd be attacked from only one flank. Now was the ideal time to flee.

But if she returned to Roman's apartment… Jaune knew where to follow. But Neo _had_ to get there and collect their stash before she fled anywhere else.

Jaune was looking expectantly to her, waiting for Neo to clear her name. Neo's hand had already –slowly- moved to her pocket as she dug out her Scroll and prepared to send him a message.

There were some things that Neo could explain away: that she was trying to help someone important to her and that her attacks on the kids hadn't ever been part of any personal grudge, or that the White Fang had tried to betray her and she had no intention of ever working with them again…

…or that this morning she'd been planning to tell Jaune that she loved him…

But there was too much else standing in the way of all that. At _best_ they'd believe Jaune and not try to capture her, but she'd be on their radar and once Neo made to free Roman they'd be on her tail. Or if she tried to forge that genuine bond with Jaune, Neo would abandon Roman to rot in a cell and have at least one other huntress in training competing for Jaune's affections and trying to woo him back.

She looked up from the Scroll at Jaune. Her heart snapped again at the eager look in his blue eyes… the sincere wish to hear her tell her story.

That wasn't how things ended. Not in this tale.

Neo put her Scroll away and closed her eyes.

"No!" Yang shouted, rearing back her fist.

Neo blinked. She moved out of the path of the blonde's gauntlet shotgun pellets and out the door. Glass in the door frame shattered behind her as Yang's attack narrowly missed the mark.

"Neo, don't!" Jaune called after her. Neo cursed the glass shattering behind her; if she'd been faster she'd have never heard Jaune cry out for her.

The Faunus moved to fire after Neo through the opening the blonde bruiser had created. Neo dashed out of the open street as fast as she could, scaling up to the second level of the café across the street and scrambling towards the roof and out of range.

"We know where she's running to," Blake flatly remarked.

Yang nodded. "Come on, we'll cut her off before she gets there."

The partners raced outside and hopped onto Yang's motorcycle, pursuing their quarry. Pyrrha stood up from the table, turning her attention to the still stunned Jaune, reaching up to shake him at his shoulders. "Jaune, come on."

"Pyrrha… you planned this, right?" Jaune asked, still staring out the shattered door. "You got with Blake and Yang and plotted all this out?"

Pyrrha hung her head. "Yes. I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jaune demanded, finally turning to look at her. "Why didn't you just tell me you wanted to ask her about this?"

"Because she tried to kill Yang, Jaune," Pyrrha flatly replied, forcing herself to look at him. "I don't know why she did. Maybe she had a reason, but I don't believe there's a _good_ reason to try and _kill_ someone who was trying to stop a train full of bombs. And I don't think _you_ believe it either."

"Neo wasn't-" Jaune protested, "She told me she was _scared_ …"

"And maybe she was," Pyrrha conceded. "Maybe things got out of hand. Maybe things went further than she thought they would." Pyrrha released her grip on Jaune's shoulders, taking a step back and drawing in a deep breath before addressing him again. "I want to believe there's more to this than it looks right now, but we gave her a chance to talk and she ran instead."

"So did Blake, during the first semester," Jaune fiercely replied. "And when we went looking for her we didn't try and shoot her in the back."

"Then don't try to fight her," Pyrrha recommended. "Talk her down. Convince her to stop running. Find the better person you believe is in there."

"You really think she'll trust me after what just happened?" Jaune demanded. "You really think she'll trust _anyone_?"

"I think if she doesn't, then it'll prove Yang right," Pyrrha simply replied. "And they'll fight, and one of them –or both of them- will be hurt."

Jaune stared at the floor.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha slowly reached for her Scroll, preparing to tell him what she'd done… that she knew where Neo was running.

"I know where she's going," Jaune spoke up. "I know the way there."

Pyrrha still held onto her Scroll. She could complete her motion and show Jaune what she'd done on his behalf, and how Yang and Blake knew where to go.

Pyrrha released her grip, placing her hand again to Jaune's shoulder. "Then show me, Jaune. I promise: I won't attack her unless our friends are in danger."

It was true that she wouldn't if she could avoid it.

But it was another lie of omission, because Pyrrha knew the truth was no longer an option.

* * *

Yang did an impressive job driving her motorcycle one-handed, firing potshots up at Neo on the rooftops with her left hand. Blake had better range with Gambol Shroud, aiming more precise bursts at the little blur of pink, brown, and white. One blur shattered to pieces after being struck, only for another to continue running as though manifesting from nowhere.

At least they were wearing down some of her energy by making Neo use her tricky illusion Semblance more and more. When Neo finally hit the ground they'd still be facing her at an advantage.

Neo dropped from the rooftops of Vale, sliding down a fire escape to an alley below. Blake lifted herself from her seated position, standing on the back of Yang's motorcycle as Yang changed course to pursue, driving into the tight corridor.

Blake fired first, testing to see if she could bait out another illusion. When Neo moved to dodge rather than leave a decoy to take the hit, Blake leapt off the back of the motorcycle, flinging out the whip of Gambol Shroud to try and ensnare the short girl. When Neo dodged that as well, Blake activated her Semblance and pushed herself forward, using a bit of Aura to have her shadow clone move her right into Neo's back, kicking the short girl from behind. Neo absorbed the impact surprisingly well, but still tumbled down along the hard pavement, even if she was able to right herself quickly.

Yang brought her bike to a hard stop and jumped off it, even with the engine still idling. She fired two concussive bursts from Ember Celica, and Neo retreated again, flipping backwards and out of the radius of the shotgun pellets. Neo was still trapped in an alley, however, and could only retreat in one direction, with Yang and Blake pursuing either of her flanks.

Neo sneered at them as she unsheathed the blade hidden in her umbrella, waiting to draw them in. She'd already exhausted considerable energy trying to flee; now she had to carefully manage the strength she had left in order to fight. When Neo fought the blonde girl in the train car she'd been able to exploit the narrow corridor to force a specific angle of attack. If the pattern held true again, then Neo could dispatch one of her two adversaries with little difficulty.

But the Faunus was an unknown variable, and one Neo was eyeing carefully. Based on what Neo recalled of Roman's account of battling her, she could push her offensive forward by leaving a temporary duplicate of herself composed of Aura. There was probably more to her unique power than that, but if she could only use this advantage by attacking in a single direction… well, Neo's entire combat style allowed her opponent's own momentum to be their undoing.

The blonde bruiser attacked first, moving to close the distance and swing. Neo ducked the right hand and reached to her back to kick the blonde hard at her opposite shoulder. She wasn't going to toy with this adversary as she had before; she'd disable as best she could and efficiently as she could. The Faunus moved to attack Neo while she was still trying to balance on one leg, so Neo allowed her heel to slide on the ground so she could drop down into a split, letting her second adversary sail over her head. Neo raised her umbrella to slash the Faunus at her stomach, but what appeared to be the Faunus girl vanished as soon as Neo's sword hit its mark.

Neo quickly tucked forward, pulling in her legs to roll, just narrowly avoiding a slash as the real Faunus girl attacked from behind, pushed forward by her facsimile. Neo kept rolling for another two feet before putting her hands out to spring up and get back to her feet. The blonde bruiser was trying to rotate her left shoulder, but in the meantime wheeled around to fire another errant shot with her still functional right arm. With nowhere to dodge to, Neo retracted her blade and opened her umbrella to take the hit, letting heat from the concussion burst disperse over its surface.

The Faunus girl leapt onto her teammate's right shoulder, and the blonde flung her at Neo. Neo couldn't hope to reach the Faunus in midair without the longer arc of her blade (and she was too short to try and kick her down), so Neo tried to retreat and put distance between them, only for the blonde to fire another burst from her gauntlet, hitting an unguarded Neo square on in the chest, knocking her to the ground and knocking off a huge chunk of Aura.

Neo tried to collect herself as the Faunus fired down in midair. With nowhere for her bullets to land but Neo directly below, the shorter girl could only open her umbrella again to buffet the attack and minimize the number of shots that found home.

Conserving her Aura hadn't worked as planned. She'd have to pick up the pace.

Neo concentrated, reforming the defensive barrier over her body, but just enough to block those weak slugs the Faunus was firing. She'd have to dodge the concussion rounds from the blonde; her shield wouldn't absorb the impact now that she had to redirect her Aura elsewhere.

Neo looked behind the blonde and blinked. When the Faunus landed her attack, the 'Neo' left behind shattered under her strike, while the real girl reemerged behind the Faunus girl's partner and delivered two kicks to each of the back of her knees: the first to disrupt her Aura layer, and the second to try and hit her joints. Neo succeeded on at least one of them, and the blonde staggered, favoring her left leg as she wobbled about, trying to support her heavy torso.

Neo then delivered another kick into the blonde's back, sending her careening through the air towards her partner. The Faunus caught her to soften the impact, both of them skidding along the ground.

Neo had no ranged weaponry, so putting them both at such a distance from her wouldn't do. And she couldn't keep bouncing back and forth like this… not for very long, anyway. Her Aura had already taken a few bad hits, and she was only going to push herself harder to keep pace.

Still, while the Faunus held her partner she was tangible. She'd receive damage, and if properly aimed the force of that damage could spread to the partner she was supporting. Neo blinked again, appearing directly before them and unsheathing her blade again, stabbing repeatedly all across the Faunus and her unguarded flank, disrupting her Aura in multiple spots and keeping the protective barrier from properly reforming. Neo then struck her while her defenses were low with a strong kick, pushing the Faunus and the blonde out of the alley back into the street, both landing in a heap.

The bruiser lifted herself first and charged at Neo, moving in a pitifully slow hobble as she tried to attack with just her right arm. Neo returned to her favored tactic of dodging and delivering a punishing counterattack, striking the blonde's knee twice again, and this time she tumbled to the ground, neither leg fit to stand on.

Neo turned her attention back to the Faunus. After the damage inflicted by Neo's sword and the burden of carrying the extra weight of her partner, Neo thought the Faunus girl might then have comparable Aura levels to herself.

Neo's smile finally returned to her. Her foes didn't stand a chance now.

* * *

At Neo's apartment, Jaune stood outside the door for several seconds, as though expecting Neo to invite him in first, or for the short girl to arrive and greet them, as though they were catching up after dinner. Pyrrha reached out with her Semblance, slowly turning the metal locks of her door and pulling it open, stepping inside to see the place Jaune had spent the previous night.

It wasn't the most luxurious of quarters, but it was certainly nicer than a dorm room. There was a nice kitchen set up, a comfortable couch, a dining table littered with stuff, and a trio of doors; multiple bedrooms and a single bath. Pyrrha tried to indulge for a moment, thinking back on how Jaune had described events… how Neo pulled him inside and lay cuddled against him on that couch…

Then she turned her attention to the items littering the table: Lien cards, bullets, a briefcase full of Dust crystals, and schematics of bullheads. Jaune joined her, staring down at the strange collection of items, holding up one of the Lien cards, one with a 16000 credit limit.

She'd been silent too long, and Jaune probably didn't want to say it himself. Pyrrha gently held up one of the Dust crystals and cleared her throat. "Jaune… I know it's _possible_ there's an explanation for this. I know you're asking yourself if this is all some part of her work. And that's the worst part: it _is_."

Jaune continued to stare at the Lien card, not meeting Pyrrha's eye. "I never saw any of this when I was here before."

" _This_ is who she is," Pyrrha went on, "Maybe you saw something else –maybe you saw something _better_ in her- but this was always below the surface."

Pyrrha steeled herself, taking another deep breath. "I know this is hard for you to hear. But you _have_ to hear it. You _have_ to believe what's right in front of you. You know that whatever it is she's doing here, it's not _just_ the good parts of her that you've seen. You _know_ she isn't who she's claimed to be."

"She never claimed to be anyone at all," Jaune blithely replied, setting the Lien card back in the stack. "I just… always accepted what she said because I… I don't know, I saw something in her that was different; something that was _special_. It wasn't just that she was pretty and I wasn't thinking- I always knew _something_ was off about her, I just kept telling myself that I didn't _need_ to know; that she'd tell me when the time was right for her."

He sighed and looked at the floor. Pyrrha reached tentatively towards him, trying to offer the reassurance he needed right now.

She had no idea what to say. Her hand just hung uselessly in the air, inches from his back. She eventually lowered it, averting her eyes too… until she heard Jaune start pulling the Lien cards into the briefcase full of Dust. "What are you doing?"

"Getting her all her stuff," was Jaune's blunt reply. "In case we need it."

"Need it?" Pyrrha repeated.

Jaune grimly nodded. "Come on. Let's go say goodbye."

* * *

Blake was the one who defeated Roman Torchwick in single combat. If any member of Team RWBY would be able to defeat the dangerous psychopath, she seemed the most likely. But Blake had won that battle with the help of some Dust and some careful misdirection. Just zipping around to slash and fire was proving ineffective, and she quickly realized she was outmatched by Neo's own considerable agility. Yang could only contribute with potshots from a seated position on the ground, and because Yang had to aim carefully and not hit Blake, her every shot was slow and easily telegraphed by their opponent, who danced around effortlessly, despite their prolonged battle.

Eventually, Neo capitalized on a mistaken advance from Blake, striking her the moment her shadow clone had dispersed and kicking her down into the hard pavement of the empty street. Neo pinned Blake by driving one heel into her back, before arcing Blake's body at a very painful angle as Neo hoisted Blake's head up, keeping her in the line of Yang's fire and holding the sword directly below the Faunus girl's throat.

Yang still tried to aim, searching for an opening as she glared at the short trickster. Neo responded by drawing her blade closer, leaving a little nick on the bottom of Blake's chin. "Let her go, you freak!" Yang snapped.

Neo had struck upon something. The blonde had never lost her cold focus when they fought one-on-one. The damage inflicted upon this Faunus girl had provoked a _different_ sort of anger… an emotion that was roaring hot.

Neo lifted the Faunus up higher, pulling hard on her long black hair and partially undoing the bow she foolishly thought hid her little kitty ears. Neo raised her blade and held it just above the now-exposed left animal ear, and motioned chopping it off.

"Stop it!" Yang furiously shouted.

Oh, the pain she must've felt, to be helpless while her partner's life was in danger… it served her right. It was good Neo got to repay the favor in kind. And more importantly, she got to _see_ that pain in the blonde bruiser's burning red eyes.

It was an indulgence, and Neo really should just kill them both and be done. But she couldn't deny how much _fun_ she was having with her prey prone and helpless…

"Neo," came a deeper, but far calmer voice. "Stop."

Neo turned her attention from Yang as Jaune and his red haired partner stepped into the street, the latter keeping Neo in the sights of a sniper rifle, apparently transformed from her polearm. Jaune held up his hands to show he was unarmed, save for a familiar looking briefcase, and implored Neo further: "Please."

Neo recognized the case now. So he'd gone back to her home…?

Jaune opened the case, showing her the intact Dust crystals and most of the Lien cards she'd had in her stockpile. "I don't know why you were gathering all this, but I'll bet it's important to you," Jaune noted, before pointing back and forth between Yang and Blake. "And _they're_ important to me."

Neo glared at him. Of course he chose his little friends over her…

"I'll give you your stuff and you'll walk," Jaune assured her. "Let our friends live, and we'll let you go with as much of your stuff as I could squeeze in here."

"Don't!" Yang snarled. "Don't you see how dangerous she is, Jaune? If you let her go –if you give her all those things- she'll just go cause trouble somewhere else!"

"Yeah, probably," Jaune wearily agreed, "but we all walk away, we all go home alive tonight. I don't want to let you go… I don't want to _know_ I helped a criminal escape, but if it means you'll let them live, I'll do it."

Blake tried to add something, but Neo tightened her grip on the Faunus girl's hair. She glanced at Yang, her right arm still pointed at Neo, moving her blade up and down above Blake's ear again, indicating for Yang to lower her weapon. The blonde bruiser continued to glare at Jaune, before finally lowering her gauntlet and turning her head in a discouraged huff.

Jaune closed up the briefcase and walked over to Neo, his partner still keeping Neo in the sights of her rifle. Once he was close enough, Neo relaxed her grip on Blake's hair and stood up, keeping the blade pointed to the back of her Faunus head, using her now free hand to type one-handed on her Scroll, sending Jaune a message as she carefully angled her position, putting Jaune in the line of Pyrrha's fire, just in case she tried anything.

Jaune heard his Scroll beep at him, and pulled it from his pocket to look down at it: _You'll let me go?_

"I will," Jaune agreed. "I promise."

He held out the briefcase. It wasn't the entirety of her stash, and she'd be leaving a decent percentage –as well as evidence of her heists- in the apartment for the cops to collect, but it was more than enough to get away. It was more than enough to sustain her for a very long time.

If she was quick, Neo could kill both Jaune and the Faunus. Neo had no more reason to believe he'd honor his word. She wanted to remove all variables, however, and jerked her unarmed hand at Pyrrha. Jaune got the message and waved back to her, and Pyrrha reluctantly lowered her rifle.

The opening was clear now. She could dispose of three and then move to engage the fourth. She could eliminate all the witnesses who knew where she slept and be done with it. Nikos was fresh, however, and Neo had already used up a lot of energy to best the other two huntresses-in-training…

More than that, she'd have to hurt Jaune. And while that sounded easier now than it ever had, she still couldn't bring herself to raise her blade.

Neo put her Scroll away and took the briefcase from him. She removed her foot from Blake's back and headed very slowly backwards, keeping her eyes on Jaune and his three friends, waiting for them to betray her at any moment.

Jaune had always kept his word before, but she no longer believed that to be a _certainty_. He may not have known this betrayal was coming, but once it had he stood beside the conspirators rather than defend her from them.

She'd never make that mistake again. She was still cursing herself for making it now.

When she was far enough away, Neo finally turned her back. She didn't want to see him anymore.

Unfortunately, she could still _hear_ him as he called out to her. "Neo… was any of it real?"

At the beginning of the day when she woke beside him, she thought her life had little meaning before that moment. When she pulled on his hoodie and he took a picture of her, there'd been very little evidence of her existence, and no one but Roman who really _wanted_ to remember her, and no one else Neo had ever truly felt for in the same way. And now, Roman's lessons reinforced, she'd never feel that way _again_. It'd just be a memory, and not one she could simply forget.

A few hours ago she'd been ready to say she loved him.

Neo was grateful he couldn't see her face, as she felt the tears welling up at the thought. She shook her head, letting her tumbling strands of hair convey her answer, in what she hoped he saw as a curt dismissal.

Then she ran before he might hear her sniffle. She hoped her tears would go unnoticed if she broke into a run. She didn't know if she succeeded or not: she had no intention of looking back.

Jaune turned his attention to Blake, reaching down and offering her his hand. She accepted, watching him closely as he looked after Neo's retreating back until she disappeared down the street. Blake reached up to adjust her bow before attempting to address him. "Jaune…"

"Please, just… not now," Jaune requested. "I _do_ want to know what happened here tonight and why you guys did this, but… please. Not now."

Blake was eager to talk to him –possibly even more eager than Pyrrha was- but she held her tongue. Blake nodded and stepped past him, going to assist Pyrrha in helping Yang to her feet while Jaune stared out at the empty space his lover had once occupied.

Blake left him to it. She'd been there often enough to know that isolation was just what he needed.

* * *

The ride back was tense and quiet –and crowded with Yang's motorcycle occupying a big chunk of the cargo bay- but they all returned to Beacon intact. Once they stepped off the bullhead and headed back to the dorm, Yang attempted to argue with Blake about her partner's decision to lower her weapon during the ambush at the ice cream parlor. Blake made no attempt to defend herself , allowing Yang to vent at her and entertain all manner of different scenarios where they succeeded in their goal, and Yang didn't have to seethe about her no-win record.

Occasionally Yang would start saying something to Jaune, only to abruptly stop herself before she'd managed more than a few words. She was clearly unhappy with the decision Jaune had made but couldn't quite articulate her criticism. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to stay mad at him… she knew what it was to have considerable difficulty trying to love someone.

When they parked Yang's motorcycle and headed upstairs, they were met by the teammates who hadn't joined them on the fool's errand. Ruby immediately rushed to her injured sister's side, desperate to know what had happened. Yang and Blake split from Pyrrha and Jaune to offer explanations to their teammates.

Pyrrha tried to disguise the events with a bit of careful wording, but Jaune interjected and told them that the girl he'd met had been an enemy menacing their friends in Team RWBY. He assumed responsibility, saying that he'd been foolish and that he wouldn't ever endanger their friends again if he could help it. He then requested a chance to talk to Pyrrha privately, and Nora once again prompted Ren to make food, this time for Yang to recover some of the energy she expended.

Pyrrha waited quietly as Jaune paced back and forth in the dorm, no doubt contemplating her role in the scheme and how exactly information he'd only briefly shared with her had been not only so easily remembered but spread to two of their friends. At multiple points in his slow walk Pyrrha tried to say what she'd done… to admit that for a brief moment she'd violated his trust, she was so overwhelmed by her need to protect him.

But when she was finally reaching into her pocket to produce the Scroll and clearly _show_ him what she'd done, Jaune stepped over to her and pinned her arms down by pulling her into a hug. "J-Jaune?"

"I'm so sorry," Jaune whispered. "All this time I thought I knew her… if I'd just talked to you, if I'd just _listened_ to you like I did before at the dance, maybe… I don't know, maybe I'd have seen this coming."

 _Pyrrha_ hadn't even seen this coming. Not without looking behind Jaune's back. She reached one hand up to pat him, trying to offer reassurance. "You couldn't have known."

"I _should_ have known," Jaune bitterly remarked. "I should have been able to make the connection… I should've asked the same questions you did: what she did, where she was… I should've just asked her _something_." He released his grip on the hug and fell back, much to Pyrrha's disappointment. "I was always so happy when I was around her I was… blind to it. It all seems so obvious now."

"Stop it," Pyrrha requested. "You can't blame yourself."

"There's no one else _to_ blame," Jaune replied, as Pyrrha averted her eyes at the thought. "You hadn't met her until tonight, and you were always so supportive, putting your faith in me to do the right thing. I thought you'd deceived me, I thought you'd _wronged_ me... now… what I did tonight, I'm not sure I know what the right thing _is_."

Pyrrha heard enough and reached over to him, putting a hand on his knee. "You do. You absolutely do."

Finally he looked up at her again, forcing himself into a weak smile. "I told you how lucky I am to have you, right? To know that there's someone whose judgment I can trust? To know that someone's always looking out for me?"

Pyrrha's conscience raged at her to tell him the truth. But if she did that now, she might shatter what little faith he still had. She'd have helped him get away from that dangerous woman just to surround him with others he didn't trust if she told him.

For his own good. She repeated this to herself quietly again and again, hoping to soothe her conscience before it forced her to act. Pyrrha put on another smile –a practiced response from years of public appearances- and nodded. "You have."

She didn't want to meet his eye. Instead she looked down, noting how far past his knee her hand had moved, sliding further up his thigh. Pyrrha immediately withdrew it, though Jaune didn't seem to notice. He was still looking at the side of her head with that same sincere, grateful look in his eye while she couldn't bear to look at him.

A knock at the door drew their attention. Jaune stood up and walked over, sliding it open, a familiar Faunus waiting on the other side. "Do you have a moment?"

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "Now's… not really a great time."

"I'll be quick, I promise," Blake assured him. "This is important, and I really just want to tell you this before we all turn in, okay?"

Jaune turned his attention back to Pyrrha, watching them curiously. He sighed and nodded. "Okay. Just for a minute."

"Let's take a walk," Blake suggested, heading down the hall. Jaune followed, smiling back at Pyrrha and holding up his index finger, promising his return. Pyrrha smiled tiredly back at him.

Once he was out of sight she pulled out her Scroll and looked down at the picture she'd taken, of what she'd stolen while Jaune was away… what her conscience still begged her to reveal to him, to know that his confidence in her was misplaced.

She'd told Jaune he couldn't get it wrong if it was the truth… but now it seemed like the truth would do nothing but hurt him… hurt them both. Much as she wanted her conscience to be clean, if she told him what she'd done, she'd hurt him. And if there was one thing she could never bring herself to do…

Pyrrha typed the command. A prompt popped up on the screen, asking if she was sure she wanted to delete the photo. Her conscience asked one final time if she could just be honest with the man she loved.

Pyrrha confirmed her order and the image of Neo vanished from her screen. Pyrrha set her Scroll aside and then buried her head in her hands, trying to remind herself that whatever guilt would haunt her would be far easier to bear than seeing disappointment and betrayal in Jaune's eyes.

At the moment, the thought wasn't much help.

* * *

Blake hadn't intended to lead Jaune very far, but with the common room occupied by Nora and Ren, she changed tactics and ascended up to the roof, to the spot Jaune and Pyrrha so often went to train, looking out over the Beacon campus. For a long time they stood there quiet; Jaune certainly wasn't in a talkative mood, and Blake wasn't eager to tell him this… but he _needed_ to hear it, and no one else could offer the same perspective.

"Do you remember earlier tonight, when I said I knew what it was like to keep following someone after you knew they'd lost their way?" Blake inquired.

"Yes," was Jaune's simple response. Blake very much doubted he'd forget _anything_ that had happened tonight.

"I was in love with someone once," Blake explained. "Someone very dear to me; someone I believed in so completely that I didn't see how far he'd fallen… or didn't _want_ to see or didn't _let_ myself see. I believed every explanation he gave me, I trusted him when he asked me to trust him.

"I don't know what Torchwick was to Neo or how they started working together," Blake conceded. "Maybe he just paid her well enough to inspire some loyalty. Maybe she's just as crazy as he was and liked causing chaos for its own sake. But whatever her reasons, she made a _choice_." Blake lowered her head ever so slightly as she recalled it. "Just like I did."

Jaune stood quietly behind her. Blake went on. "It's hard to see the bad side of someone when you love them –when you _really_ love them- and I don't know what you two had, but I'll bet you didn't just start liking her yesterday when she texted you…"

"No," Jaune acknowledged.

"No, because you told me, remember?" Blake reminded him. "The night before the dance? You told me how you wanted to know more about her, and you could sense that she had a hard time letting you in because of something… something that scared her or pushed her away from you."

"And?" Jaune asked.

Blake finally turned to face him. "And you shouldn't blame yourself for not seeing this, even if I know you're going to. I know you think you deserve to be punished, or that you should've known better or that you might be in some way responsible for the things that she's done. You're _not_."

Blake only wished someone had told her the same. She wished she had trusted anyone at the time to listen if they'd say these words.

"Are you trying to make me feel better?" Jaune asked. "Or do you just want me to feel bad because you went through something similar?"

It was uncharacteristically harsh of him, but Blake took it in stride. Emotions were running high, and she just looked at him, letting his words hang in the air.

Almost immediately, Jaune reached a hand up to cover one eye and massage his forehead as he muttered to himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just-"

"I know," Blake assured him. "I _know_ what you're going through. _That_ is what I'm saying."

"I don't think I know anything anymore, Blake," Jaune said. "All I've done so far is get everything wrong."

Blake stepped towards him. Not so long ago, she'd felt an impulse to act, to quell a heart troubled just as her own had been.

She didn't gesture for him to come down this time. She just pressed her forehead to his shoulder and rested it there, trying a smaller amount of affection… a less bold way of reminding him she cared.

"I know you need time, but I've been here before," Blake told him. "I know it'll be hard for you to get there. I know it's not easy for you to trust right now… but we did this because we wanted to help you. If you believe nothing else I say, please believe that."

He still smelled like Neo. He probably would for quite a while, but Blake tried not to let it bother her. This affection wasn't supposed to be for _her_ benefit.

But then… pressed to him now… like she had before the dance, just a few days ago…

She hoped he wouldn't stop trusting her. More than anything, Blake hoped Jaune wouldn't become like her.

It was a long time before Jaune reacted, but he moved one arm to her back and pressed her closer, embracing her in a half-hearted hug; much less than she expected from Jaune Arc.

But then, he'd had a pretty terrible day. That he could express affection at all to someone he'd felt betrayed him put him far ahead of so, _so_ many others.

Soon, pressed to his shoulder, Blake forgot the scent that had bothered her and focused on the one drawing her in, of a sincere boy whose heart knew a pain she'd once shared, and she could soothe.

Not tonight.

Blake finally withdrew from him, looking up. "When you're better –when you're up to it- we can talk more. I'm sure there's a lot of other things on your mind right now."

"Not really," Jaune admitted.

No, Blake agreed. She couldn't imagine there was anything else on his mind but what he'd just lost. Even the mistrust he felt now couldn't compare to the gaping wound left in his heart from seeing his love run away from him.

* * *

Neo could run. With the Lien she could go to the other side of the world and disappear. With her skills she could find steady work and in a place like Anima or Vacuo she could work for people less concerned with rules and laws.

But she had rules too: three of them all taught by the same man. And she wanted to regain the constant in her life. She wanted to find the one person –the only person- who loved her and spend as much of her life with him as she could.

Even if it meant going out in the open again. Even if it meant allying with the very people who'd already abandoned Roman to his fate.

She'd eventually made the connection, and realized why she'd never known where Cinder and her minions slept. They were carefully protected, hiding in plain sight… in the very last place Neo wanted to be.

The extra layers of security delayed her, but only temporarily. From there, she just had to find the appropriate dorm housing guest students preparing to take part in the Vytal Festival.

She didn't want to stay in Beacon any longer than she had to. She was tired, cold, and upset, but she far preferred that feeling to the litany of potential dangers she was walking directly towards. She was glad she'd had such a good night's sleep the previous day, because she doubted she'd know another untroubled night for a while.

Eventually Neo found the guest dorm and quietly peered in windows until she found the one she wanted. Neo then waited for a student with an open window to fall asleep and slipped inside, discreetly working her way back around.

She waited a long time outside the unfamiliar door as he prepared herself for the undertaking ahead. Neo knew that once inside she could show no hesitation; no weakness before the hungry pack she was about to join, even when their fangs had already turned on one of her own.

One last time she thought about running with her gains, but she dismissed the thought almost as quickly. She wouldn't abandon Roman, and if there was any chance she could help him, any road that led to him somewhere down its path…

Neo knocked on the door. A few moments passed before she heard movement from inside, as a pair of heels clinked like glass, slowly drawing nearer.

She opened the door herself. Neo had to admit this woman was fearless. And looking directly into her amber eyes, Neo saw clearly why Roman was so afraid of her… she could only try and use her own bizarre eyes to counteract, to reflect fear back at this dangerous and powerful player.

"Well, well," Cinder mused, looking down at Neo with a coy smile. "What _do_ we have here?"


	10. Believe

**Chapter Ten: Believe**

* * *

Classes had already been scheduled to be suspended for two weeks to accommodate the first years going out on missions, and after Glynda informed anyone who _hadn't_ set out they were to remain at Beacon and all missions were postponed until after the Vytal Festival, Team JNPR had expected to enjoy the downtime and maybe get a bit of training in before taking part in the upcoming tournament. They hadn't expected to hear anything at all from the faculty, until Jaune received a message from Glynda informing him of a request to see Professor Ozpin.

Jaune had a pretty good idea what this was about, though his mind raced with a lot of possible variants of the same subject: maybe Neo told Torchwick about him and then he talked while in captivity and Ozpin was following up on that, or maybe someone recalled seeing Jaune and Neo at that club on the shady side of town or maybe someone accidentally let slip about Jaune aiding and abetting Neo's escape by giving her resources.

If nothing else, Jaune didn't think Ozpin cared about his forged transcripts anymore.

Jaune prepared himself for the worst as he rode the elevator up to the headmaster's office near the top of the tower. Ruby had briefly described the experience to him as he was heading out, explaining how the constant moving gears overhead made it very hard to concentrate, as though designed to throw people off balance when they stood in Ozpin's presence. The headmaster was quite intimidating enough _without_ the extra advantage, so that would be one more thing to terrify Jaune as he thought about his academic future vanishing in a moment… though Ruby also mentioned Professor Ozpin being strangely mercurial in not doling out punishments, even when she'd been caught dead to rights where she wasn't supposed to be.

He wasn't sure what the punishment was _supposed_ to be for whatever strange things Ruby got up to, but Jaune was pretty sure what he'd done was worse.

"Mister Arc, please, sit down," the headmaster requested, gesturing to the seat in front of his semicircular desk, Ozpin still standing with his back to Jaune and staring out the window of his office.

Jaune approached very slowly, listening to the manic turning of gears over his head with his every step. He tried not to let the noise bother him, but it was so loud as to be distracting. Jaune sat down and tried not to let the noise bother him, staring at Ozpin's back while the headmaster continued to stare out the window.

"I received a very odd police report from Vale about a few of my students causing property damage," Ozpin explained, "and then almost immediately after I'd read the message I received word that the owners of the property weren't pressing charges. Apparently someone reimbursed them for the damage done to their front door _and_ paid for three dinner orders."

Jaune sat quietly, trying not to listen to the moving gears.

"I've been at Beacon for a long time; I'm quite used to having to smooth over issues with the local authorities because a few of my students got… _rambunctious_ ," Ozpin went on. "But this particular case caught my attention because _usually_ Beacon pays for any damage done out of funds apportioned for just such an occasion, and then garnishes from the offending student's stipends until the debt is repaid. Instead, the offending student –or one of many- paid for the damages before I was even aware of the issue."

Ozpin turned around at last, walking over and sitting down to face Jaune. "I was naturally curious about the nature of the incident, and the staff reported seeing yourself and your partner Miss Nikos, so that explained her decision to reimburse them… but out of all my students, Miss Nikos has no black marks on her record, and you've improved your study habits enough Doctor Oobleck no longer feels the need to bring you up; at least to me.

"However, the good doctor _did_ mention in another report he'd recently given me some troubling details about the incident at Mountain Glenn, including accounts given by Team RWBY, who acted under his supervision at the time," Ozpin went on. "And after requesting some additional information from the parlor you visited in Vale, I learned that one of their regular customers had a physical description that lined up _remarkably_ well with the one offered by Miss Xiao Long to describe an assailant she encountered on the trip back from Mountain Glenn.

"Shortly after the damage caused to the parlor, there was an additional report of breaking and entering in a nearby apartment complex. When police arrived on the scene to investigate, they discovered a variety of stolen items, and eventually learned the apartment had been rented to Roman Torchwick, the recently apprehended criminal and mastermind of the operation in Mountain Glenn that led to the breach," Ozpin continued. "And it seemed you'd been there yourself sometime prior, based on certain additional evidence found at the scene."

"Professor…" Jaune interjected, his dislike of gears overpowering any fear he had of the administration, "can you just ask me whatever it is you want to ask me?"

"Very well," Ozpin agreed. "I want a few simple answers from you; simple answers for admittedly complex questions." He turned to a mug of coffee on his desk and took a long sip before progressing. "Were you aware that it was the home of a wanted criminal?"

"No," Jaune replied.

"Are you aware of the current whereabouts of any associates of Roman Torchwick?" Ozpin inquired.

"No," Jaune replied.

Ozpin was quiet for several seconds. "And did you provide material aid to a wanted criminal?"

Jaune could easily claim he was just getting things for her; that he'd gone to Neo's home to get what she'd asked for, and he hadn't known what he was handing over. Clearly Ozpin –and possibly the police- knew he'd done _something_ , and he was the only one whose criminal activity they had left to punish. But he didn't lie, at least not to defend himself. "I did."

Ozpin sipped his coffee again. "I assume the alternative would've been worse?"

If he hadn't intervened, Neo might've killed Blake, and possibly Yang too. Pyrrha _may_ have been able to disarm Neo, but based on how close her blade was to Blake's neck, Neo could just as easily have reacted first. What Jaune knew for certain, however, was that _he_ couldn't have stopped her, even if he had his weapons on hand at the time. "She was threatening to hurt someone."

"I assume someone in the wrong place at the wrong time," Ozpin noted. Before Jaune could answer, Ozpin continued his musing. "Well, there were no casualties reported, and I'm sure the police are more concerned about reports of violence than they ever have been of a thief escaping with her resources intact.

"One other matter, Mister Arc," Ozpin added. "Miss Nikos posted the funds to repair the damage caused. Did she do so at your behest?"

"I didn't _order_ her to," Jaune answered.

"No, I'm certain you didn't," Ozpin agreed. "And the staff here will have no trouble believing Miss Nikos took it upon herself to pay for the damage done of her own accord. I just needed your assurances to offer the proper authorities. As you can imagine they have a great many questions… and while your answers are satisfactory for _me_ , they are not so indulgent. And now that Atlas has taken over the kingdom's security concerns for the Vytal Festival, there will be increased scrutiny of any criminal activity in the city… and less inclination to follow my recommendations, now that I no longer have jurisdiction over my student's activities."

For a long time they were both quiet. Jaune raised an eyebrow. "So is there… any, I don't know, punishment?"

"Do you feel there should be?" Ozpin inquired.

Jaune fell quiet, his eyes pointing to the floor. If he were honest… he didn't actually _want_ any kind of disciplinary action from Ozpin or any kind of legal consequence from the authorities, but he couldn't deny it was probably merited.

"In lieu of a punishment, let me offer you a warning, Mister Arc," Ozpin suggested. "We will all exercise poor judgment at times in our lives; I know this better than most. You shouldn't be so concerned about the mistakes you make now, while you have the luxury of being supported by friends and teammates; rather try to learn from them for the trials that will await you once you've graduated and become a fully- fledged huntsman. Before that time, you should be aware that you will falter… you will _misjudge_."

Ozpin turned around in his chair and faced out the window again. "That will be all, Mister Arc."

Jaune cast a curious glance at the back of Ozpin's head before he departed, still deeply troubled by all he'd done, and how little consequence there seemed to be.

But then, the real consequence was returning to his dorm and knowing all his friends in the vicinity undoubtedly now knew of his misadventures with someone who tried to kill one of their own.

* * *

Yang wasn't upset with Jaune that he allowed Neo to escape. Well, she _had_ been upset for a while, but she had cooled off considerably once they returned to Beacon. Now she reserved her displeasure for Blake, and Blake suspected that was because of her attempt to resolve matters non-violently. It was one thing for Jaune to screw up a plan he hadn't been aware of. It was another for Blake to go off-script.

Yang had managed to keep her thoughts to herself for a while, mostly out of respect for their other two teammates' justifiable concerns. Yang wasn't one to lose her temper in front of Ruby if it could be helped, and Blake wasn't going to be forthcoming about her thoughts on the matter either. When they finally had a moment to themselves, however… while lying in their beds and musing on earlier events…

"You remember we had a plan, right?" Yang asked from her bunk below Blake's. "We should've captured her right then."

"And risked letting Jaune get caught in the crossfire," Blake argued. "If I hadn't put down my gun, Pyrrha would've broken ranks to protect him from the shots."

"Pyrrha literally had Neo in her hand," Yang countered. "We all hit her fast and hard and she would've-"

"Would've what?" Blake interrupted. "Been knocked out? _Died_?"

Yang was quiet for a long time before she asked: "Would that have been so bad?"

Blake returned that silence before she answered. "We should avoid that if we can. _Wherever_ we can."

"Like we did on the train with the White Fang?" Yang inquired.

Blake hadn't seen everything that happened atop the cars, but more than once she knocked a recruit off the speeding train in the heat of battle. If they hadn't been killed by the fall, they were almost certainly left to the Grimm filling into the tunnels. Yang did something similar, deliberately knocking a recruit into a train with a still-active bomb and leaving him to his fate.

And then when Blake had Roman at her mercy… she'd come very, _very_ close to killing him. She _wanted_ to, and she could easily have justified it to herself as a practical course of action, and not merely a powerful desire for revenge. At the time, she certainly thought about how it might benefit her team and the kingdom to simply be rid of him, and not _just_ her own need to punish him for the evil he'd done to her personally.

And Yang… well, she wasn't wrong to see an upside to getting rid of Neo; as it was a dangerous and unpredictable criminal with some considerable combat ability was out in Vale and they'd lost whatever leads they'd had to track her whereabouts. If Neo was _dead_ and they all conspired to kill her, that may have made them worse people –individually, collectively- but it would've made _the kingdom_ safer.

But every time Blake saw that line crossed it became easier and easier to justify. For herself… and for _him_.

"There _is_ a line," Blake replied. "I'm not always sure where it is –sometimes it's hard to see when you're in the thick of things- but it's there, and every time we cross it we have a longer trip finding our way back from the other side."

She thought she should call on the personal side of things; frame her argument as being about herself rather than Yang. "I could've been like those kids Torchwick recruited. Or I could've been like Neo, if I was always willing to look the other way when the White Fang got worse and worse. I'm not going to ever risk being that kind of person again. And the best way to avoid that fate is to not cross the line when I know I don't _have_ to."

"And what, just let the bad girl get away?" Yang demanded.

"Remember when you told me to slow down?" Blake reminded her. "We waited, and we picked our spot. And eventually we caught him, _after_ he escaped us a few times. Be patient, Yang: you don't have to be like Neo is in order to beat her."

This seemed to pacify Yang, at least for the moment, as she rolled over onto her side below Blake, staring at the wall of their dorm. Again they were quiet for a long time.

"What did Ladykiller ever see in her anyway?" Yang mused.

Blake had to admit she wondered the same… though she had a pretty good idea based on their talks. Neo had approached him not as a violent and psychotic career criminal, but as a strange, lonely girl who didn't fit in to the comfortable grooves the rest of society tended to occupy. And Jaune had been intrigued, not just because she was a pretty girl but because she'd been in pain and his presence alleviated that.

And more than that, he'd fallen in love. Blake knew better than most how unpredictable that was… and how difficult it was to stop once you'd begun.

She still woke feeling cold, reaching across for a presence that she'd known wasn't waiting for her. Before, she'd been getting used to waking up alone and not sharing her bed with someone she loved. Now… now she was trying to find a person who'd never been there before.

The thought terrified her, because she really hoped it would have passed from her mind by now. If not after her embarrassing misreading before the dance, then at least after she'd known Jaune's heart had been elsewhere.

Well, now his heart was wounded, as Blake's had been. Now they had something new in common.

It'd be so much easier for her to sleep if they didn't.

* * *

Jaune was usually very determined to improve and train, but in the week leading up to the Vytal Festival, he'd begun to noticeably slack off. Pyrrha missed the one-on-one training sessions, but she understood Jaune would need time to rise up from the torpor he found himself in. And if she were completely honest, at times it was still difficult for her to meet his eye. Not because she was upset with him over Neo –though that was certainly in the back of her mind more often than she wanted it to be- but at the guilt gnawing away at her, reminding her she'd never told him the truth and he'd apparently been convinced that she acted with his best interests at heart and was grateful to the lengths she went to in order to save him from a bad situation.

Pyrrha had never thought she'd feel so guilty accepting gratitude from him; that she would _dread_ the sight of his smile and that his happiness would make her feel _shame_. She had repeated her mantra again and again that she'd had his best interests at heart and done only what was necessary for his safety. She still believed that, but it no longer offered much reassurance.

Her conscience argued that she would be free of this if she just admitted the truth, if she said that she peeked at his Scroll and clarified things for herself… as it was, Jaune believed Pyrrha had simply remembered the address after he showed her his Scroll on the day of the breach, and though she had yet to give voice to the line, her smiles and nods were every bit as damning.

She couldn't bring herself to hurt him. Not now, not ever.

Ren suggested Nora accompany Pyrrha to the doubles round rather than Jaune, and Nora seemed game for it. Pyrrha had hoped to bring Jaune with her into the battle, but understood why now wasn't a good time for him to try and perform under pressure for multiple rounds. Fighting in a tournament would be a much easier burden to carry than trying not to break concentration every time he smiled at her.

He just needed time… and once Jaune was whole again, Pyrrha would be the same. Once he had completely moved on from his misplaced and confusing feelings, Pyrrha would copy his motion. She just needed a little more time.

Perhaps they'd fight together in another tournament in the third year. And perhaps then his heart would not be so heavy, because Pyrrha would be holding part of it herself.

* * *

 _The Vytal Festival Tournament Finals_

General Ironwood made the decision in his capacity as head of security to disqualify Yang, knocking Team RWBY from contention in the tournament. Despite Team RWBY's fervent protests and insistence that Yang was not at fault, people all over the world believed they'd seen Yang attack and seriously injure Mercury Black after the fight had already ended. Yang had certainly considered the possibility of winning the tournament, but now that option was rendered moot Yang's top priority became reminding her friends that she was not the monster she'd just been portrayed as.

"You guys believe me, right?" Yang asked almost as soon as Ironwood left their dorm room.

"Duh!" Ruby answered instantaneously.

"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless," Weiss assured her.

Silence hung in the room too long, as Yang realized who hadn't yet offered her opinion. "Blake?"

Blake was averting everyone's eyes, much to the surprise of Weiss and Ruby. "…I _want_ to believe you."

Ruby's response was a gasp of confusion. Weiss indignantly demanded: "What is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

Blake knew Yang was tearing up before Yang herself did. She smelled the salt and heard the water run. It was a preferable sound to the hurt in Yang's voice when she choked out a pained: "Blake…"

Blake looked at Yang for a moment before looking away again. It wasn't any easier to answer _after_ seeing the tears in her eyes.

"How can you say something like that?" Weiss asked. "Yang would never lie to us!"

Blake cast a glance towards Weiss. Then she took a deep breath and began. "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant; it was gradual… little choices that began to pile up."

She hadn't told them the full story of Adam and herself, not even when she had the perfect opportunity to do so a few weeks prior in Mountain Glenn. Now wasn't the most opportune time to go into detail about that, so she only told them the important parts. And she focused her attention on Yang, who very recently had been willing to cross a line when she'd been particularly angry and frustrated.

But the tears rolling down her cheeks now… the eyes looking back at her… that wasn't the gaze of a monster masquerading in human skin. "But you're _not_ him, and you've never done anything like this before."

And she hadn't. She might've _wanted_ to, but Blake had very nearly done the same herself and managed to avoid taking that step. She certainly hoped the same was true of Yang, and that the reinforcement of her faith might remind Yang of the reasons _not_ to cross the line. "So I want to trust you. I _will_ trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me that _he_ attacked _you_. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did,"

Yang wiped the tears from her eyes before firmly asserting: "I saw him attack me. So I attacked back."

Blake took another deep breath then smiled at her partner. "Okay. Thank you."

Yang didn't seem as happy with the outcome as Blake. The doubt Blake had cast her way would take time to fade. "I think I'm gonna rest up…"

"We'll get out of your hair," Blake assured her, and Ruby and Weiss joined her in stepping outside.

They'd barely even left their dorm when Jaune poked his head out from across the hall. "She doing okay?"

Blake turned her attention to him. She wasn't sure why it still surprised her to hear such constant sincerity from him, but it could still catch her off guard at times, and she hesitated, if only briefly. "She's doing the best she can."

It was all she could manage to say. She was having trouble even meeting Jaune's eye, as she thought on Yang, and the role her partner had played in their deception before… she was completely out of it as Ruby tried to fill Team JNPR in, and faintly heard Ren say something, but her attention was elsewhere until Ruby addressed Pyrrha, their _other_ co-conspirator.

"You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?" Ruby asked.

"It's what Yang would want," Weiss chimed in.

Pyrrha turned her head away to think, before whipping back around with a confident smile. "I'll… do my best."

There was a faint hesitation in her voice now; doubt that Pyrrha was usually quite good at concealing. That shouldn't have been surprising: they were all rattled by what happened to Yang and surely even 'the invincible girl' could be affected by that.

But for some reason, Blake didn't think that was the reason for Pyrrha's lapse. Or at least, not the _only_ reason…

Ruby promised she'd be in the stands to watch in case Pyrrha was selected. Weiss suggested she and Blake go for coffee, though Blake amended the offer to include tea.

Weiss went ahead of her as Blake dragged her feet, though she couldn't decide exactly why… she told Weiss she'd catch up in short order. Something told her things were off with Pyrrha, but unlike Yang, Pyrrha knew exactly what was troubling her and hadn't brought it to the forefront. Blake had heard the same warble in her voice when she felt the same.

When guilt returned to her at the worst possible time.

* * *

Afternoon was slowly turning to evening, and Ren and Nora had gone to the fairground when Jaune suggested they get some air. Nora got the implication and left Jaune and Pyrrha alone, though at some point Jaune wandered away to get them food to share, leaving Pyrrha with her troublesome thoughts.

Before she only had her own guilt to worry about. Then Professor Ozpin had turned her world on its head by telling her about a woman lying in a stasis chamber in a vault underground, and the role they had in mind for Pyrrha… how magic was real, how a woman was dying and when she did a dangerous individual would gain an enormous amount of power from her… how she longed for a day before when she'd only felt guilty about lying to a friend, and not felt an even greater weight.

Pyrrha kept thinking about how quickly she'd agreed to Ozpin's request to shoulder this new burden. At the time she hadn't thought it was to take her mind off the conscience plaguing her, but now… well, now it certainly hadn't been much of an improvement. At least her guilt was a single coherent thought. This… whatever all _this_ was assailed her mind from multiple angles, with a lot of incomplete or unfinished thoughts. At least when she felt bad thinking about going behind Jaune's back she knew exactly why she was troubled. With this she wasn't sure where to begin.

Then Jaune reached down to offer her a snack. It helped to focus her thoughts in a single direction. At first Jaune was beaming at her, until he saw the torment plainly written on Pyrrha's face. He sat down beside her outside the dining hall and started talking. "You were the first person to ever believe in me, you know that?"

How she had wanted to hear him remind her… how she wished that when he showed pride in her Pyrrha could feel like she deserved it. When Jaune pointed out his parents told him not to worry if he washed out of Beacon and he'd been depressed by their lack of faith, Pyrrha was quick to cut in: "I'm sure they didn't mean-"

She stopped herself as her attempt to avert her gaze led to her looking down to where Jaune had placed his hand. It rested –apparently unknown to him- right atop her own.

They'd had similar moments of affection, but there was still something special about this. There was still something about feeling him reach out to her that sharply focused her attention, pushing away her doubt and pain.

"I guess I'm just trying to say that… you've always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it," Jaune explained. "And I can tell there's something on your mind, so… I don't know. How can I help?"

It helped he wasn't looking at her. His words stung as he again placed his faith in her.

Pyrrha focused on Jaune, and leaned over to nestle her head against his shoulder. Before she might've considered this act too bold, but if it would silence her doubts she'd take it now. She could tell Jaune was surprised by her action –she was very rarely the one to take the initiative- but Jaune didn't move away. And in remaining there beside her… "You're already doing it."

And for a long, beautiful moment it was all she needed. But when she heard Jaune's lips turn into a smile and a leaf floated over to join them and she realized time was passing… when she remembered all that had happened, all that had _changed_ recently…

Pyrrha removed her head from his shoulder and looked at him for a moment, hoping she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "Jaune…" she stood up, removing her hand from beneath his own. "…I don't know what to do."

"W-what do you mean?" Jaune wondered.

Pyrrha summoned the courage to look at him again. She was about to ask him something important, and wanted to be able to read him even if it might cause her pain to hear his sincere answer. It helped he'd probably be confused.

She took a deep breath and asked: "Do you believe in destiny?"

"Um… I don't know," Jaune admitted. "I guess that depends on how you view it."

Pyrrha looked away again. The confused look in his eye was hard enough to look upon. At least he wasn't smiling. "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape… but rather, some sort of final goal; something you work towards your entire life."

"Okay… yeah, I can see that, sure," Jaune agreed.

Pyrrha still couldn't meet his eye. She'd been brave for a moment, and now she couldn't just look at him when she tried to ask him something important… she couldn't do him even that small courtesy. "Well… what if something came along that you never expected?" She finally inclined her head towards him, but only so far. "Something that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny?"

"Like… what?" Jaune asked.

Even that sidelong glance was too much. Pyrrha whipped her head away and raised her hands to grip the air. "Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?"

"Pyrrha, you're not making any sense…" she felt the armor plates on his hoodie move. He was reaching out to her, trying to offer reassurance. Pyrrha hastily rose to her feet, fleeing from the thing that for so long she'd most wanted.

"None of it makes sense!" Pyrrha protested, crossing her arms at her chest and trying to will the pain upwards, to join the other words she'd uncontrollably released. "This isn't how things were supposed to happen!"

Jaune scrambled to his feet after her. "I'm sorry! I'm… I'm just trying to understand what's wrong."

Pyrrha stood with her back to him for a long time. "I've always felt as though I was destined to become a Huntress; to protect the world." She sighed to herself. "And it's become increasingly clear to me that my feelings were _right_." She turned to face him, but almost immediately averted her eyes again. "But… _I don't know if I can do it_."

"Of course you can," Jaune assured her, and Pyrrha dared to look again. "The Pyrrha Nikos I know would never back down from a challenge. And if you really believe it's your destiny to save the world you can't let anything stand in your way."

He smiled when he finished speaking. And when he smiled at her, and she felt all the guilt well up again…

She was still misleading him. Still not being honest with the person she loved most… still dancing around the truth like the words were toxic. Pyrrha brought her hands up to her mouth to silence herself before she compounded things, before she layered another half-truth or another lie of omission on… she couldn't stop herself. Pyrrha started sobbing as her conscience came back to claw at her from under her skin…

"Pyrrha?" Jaune began to reach towards her.

"Stop," Pyrrha begged, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

Jaune reached a hand towards her shoulder. "Did I say something wrong?"

" _ **Stop!**_ " Pyrrha shouted, pushing out her right hand. She felt the metal in his armor and pushed it away, her Semblance lashing out in a fury and sending Jaune flying into one of the supporting columns outside the dining hall. Jaune impacted so hard against the stone it shattered at his back.

When Pyrrha dared to look again, to see her handiwork, she was horrified. "Jaune…!"

He landed flat on his face when Pyrrha's magnetic pull relaxed its grip on him. She looked down to see the confusion, the _pain_ in his eyes… to know that he was hurt and Pyrrha was the one who hurt him…

All the half-truths, all the moral compromises, all the childish jealousy, all the guilt… it had all been in aid of never resulting in _exactly_ _this_. Everything she'd done, every poor decision she'd made, it had all been in the name of never hurting Jaune.

And now it had all been for nothing.

All because he'd tried to help her in her time of need, and she'd been so consumed with doubts that she'd _hurt_ him. The tears were falling faster and faster now. "I'm… I'm sorry."

She had to get away. She ran, ignoring Jaune's desperate plea: "Pyrrha, wait!" He was still trying to reach out to her, and all she could do was run.

Sensitive ears heard the cracking of stone and moved to investigate. When they heard Jaune despairingly wonder "What did I say…?" their owner was quick to realize that something quite unexpected had occurred… and that was a recurring theme lately.

A hand reached down to the wounded Jaune on the ground. He looked up to its bearer, still a bit too winded from the blow he'd taken to try and disguise his injury.

Blake reached down and helped Jaune to his feet. "I'd like to know the same."

* * *

Jaune was insistent that he was fine, but Blake was equally insistent he return to the dorm room for a moment so she could verify that fact. Though he staggered a bit on the way back, Jaune quickly regained his footing, explaining to Blake that he had a bit more Aura than most people, and as a result was quite adept at taking a beating. At first he seemed proud of this fact, but then he became uncharacteristically sullen at the thought. Blake still pushed him to return to the dorms, and Jaune didn't fight her on it, though she opted to follow along with him, sending a text to let Weiss know she'd be a bit longer.

Weiss's reply asked Blake to say hello to Sun on her behalf. She –like the rest of Team RWBY- seemed to reach the conclusion that was where Blake was whenever she disappeared somewhere these days. And while she didn't really enjoy them constantly making assumptions about her personal life, she had to admit it made for a good alibi.

And they weren't too far off the mark. She was with a different blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy. At a distance, it'd be an easy mistake to make.

Yang was still alone in the RWBY dorm and Blake was not at all eager to intrude on her isolation, at least at the moment. With Ren and Nora out at the fairgrounds and Pyrrha's destination unclear -and no response to several of Jaune's texts- they figured the JNPR dorm would be empty. Once inside, Blake asked Jaune to show her his back. Jaune, apparently completely used to doing such things, removed his armor plating and pulled off his hoodie, sitting down on his bed and inviting Blake to do the same.

It wasn't the first time Blake had caught a glimpse of Jaune's impressive form before… more than one night had gone by and JNPR had left their door open –usually with Nora, Ruby, and Yang racing between- and Blake had occasionally let her eyes leave whatever book she was reading from her top bunk and look across the hall so she could watch the boys next door. This was the first time she'd actually been close enough to really take in his features… and –more than that- to _touch_ his bare skin.

Ostensibly she was looking for signs of damage, but Blake's hands seemed to spend a bit more time taking in the definition of his muscles, and at some point she wondered if Jaune would catch on. But he was still deep in thought, in that unusually down mood that didn't suit him at all.

He didn't _appear_ to be injured –not that Blake was really still looking for injuries- but the dour mood he was in… Blake could hazard a guess as to why. But she couldn't be the one to broach the subject; it had been something between Jaune and Pyrrha, and much as Blake wished to know it wasn't for her to ask. Jaune had to share of his own volition.

And after a long silence, he did. "She's really feeling the pressure… worse than I ever realized she was," Jaune explained. "I knew she was troubled today but when she tried to explain it I pushed her too hard."

It was an inevitable result of Jaune's eager efforts to help. Eventually he'd overstep, even with someone as patient as Pyrrha. But for Pyrrha to actually lash out at Jaune… that wasn't just unusual, it was entirely unprecedented. This wasn't some small problem, and Jaune seemed aware of that. He also looked like a man knowing he was out of his depth and powerless to act.

"I just can't seem to get things right," Jaune mused. "I keep thinking I'm onto something and then I find out I never had a clue."

Blake wasn't sure if he was still talking about Pyrrha or just lamenting all that had occurred to him. First Weiss and his ill-fated chase, then Neo and their unusual bond, then Blake misreading Jaune's words and their kiss…

Blake shook her head. She was here because her friend –her _friend_ \- had been hurt and she wanted to make sure he was okay. And he was opening up to her, despite whatever feelings of apprehension he still had for her after she took part in deceiving him. He could've easily brushed off Blake's offer of help, and with a fair justification for not trusting her.

"Pyrrha… I've just been oblivious to whatever she's going through," Jaune admitted. "I kept thinking everything was fine and my team was okay… but all I've ever done is been away from them. First with that whole thing with Cardin, then with Neo… I don't even know how long this thing with Pyrrha's been going on. I feel like she was keeping this from me so I wouldn't have to deal with it; so I could mope around about…"

He'd stopped himself. He'd been about to say something he didn't want Blake to hear. "About what?" Blake pressed him.

Jaune hung his head. "Neo. I know she was bad news. I know that now…. but I also felt like… she was all alone. When she texted me on the day of the breach, she really _was_ afraid, because she'd lost someone important to her. "

Blake hadn't been privy to those events, only hearing some of the details secondhand. Normally she'd be quite interested in all the specifics, but when it came to Jaune and Neo… "You're not supposed to just instantly get over it," Blake offered. "Even when you know you should. It's not like you just forget that you loved them."

"Like that guy you told me about?" Jaune asked, turning to look at her.

Blake only nodded. She wasn't any more eager to talk about him now than she'd been when filling in her teammates. She didn't want to dwell on him, or spare him any more of her thoughts.

"And how long did it take you?" Jaune wondered. His blue eyes were intense when they peered into her.

Blake knew she should lie and say a few months. She should pretend that things were fine, that she'd moved on.

Instead she admitted: "I haven't. I haven't forgotten. I'm _not_ over it." At Jaune's astonished look, Blake quickly clarified: "I know I should be. I don't _want_ to think about him. I don't _want_ to remember the good times, but I can't help it: they're just as real as the bad ones. And he was the first man I loved; I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that."

"And you felt this way all along?" Jaune asked. "Did you tell your teammates?"

Blake shook her head. "I never wanted to worry them; I never wanted it to be their burden."

Jaune's eyes turned softer, the fierceness replaced by quiet concern. "Have you… tried? Have you ever just asked them if they'd listen when you needed to tell them something?"

Usually, Blake went out of her way not to talk. Even when she'd been losing sleep to obsession she'd preferred to deal with it on her own, as though sharing her problems with her team might weaken her… _lessen_ her somehow. Then Yang had taken the time to open up to Blake instead…

"More than anything I wish I just knew what could be done differently," Jaune explained. "So I don't have to feel like I'm always screwing up… so maybe I can finally do something right and help my friends how they need to be helped. And I wish they wouldn't hold back because I had problems of my own… I never want there to be distance between my friends."

"But there _is_ distance," Blake affirmed. "Whether we want to admit it or not."

Jaune glanced at Blake's hand still pressed to his bare back. "Not now there isn't. Right now, in spite of everything that's happened, in spite of all the things we've done… we're here. Together."

Blake looked down at her hand and moved to retract it, before Jaune reached over to take hold of her wrist. "Please, Blake… I've done everything wrong so far. I'd like for a moment to know if there's something I can do _right_. I'd like to think I can always help _somehow_."

Blake looked down at his hand holding onto her then back up to his eyes. She smiled and leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his, not having to tug his head down with both of them seated on his bed. She rested there, as she had twice before… and each time when he'd needed her help she'd given this small gesture of affection and then-

"I wish you'd just _tell_ me if you need help," Jaune muttered.

Too much noise. "I'm not very good at talking," Blake admitted.

"No," Jaune realized. "Me neither…"

He moved back from her, and Blake lost the warm feeling of his forehead. When she met his eye again he seemed… determined. Fierce. Very unlike she expected of Jaune Arc.

"I want to try and do something right," Jaune explained.

Blake nodded. "Trying is one of those things we can't help but get right… as long as we _try_."

Jaune moved his head back towards hers', very slowly. Blake recognized the motion. She'd been here before, on the giving end _and_ the receiving end.

He was going to…

Kiss her.

Jaune held the embrace for a very long moment. Blake's eyes were wide at first, but eventually they drifted shut. She reached her free hand up to his cheek and held Jaune in place before her.

Then Jaune withdrew from her, his mind running through the sequence of events. Blake watched him think, before casting him an encouraging smile. She didn't want him to think his first time taking the lead had gone poorly. She hadn't been able to raise an objection at the time.

But then Jaune raised a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "Oh, god, I'm such an idiot… I did it again…"

"Did… what?" Blake asked.

Jaune didn't look at her. He gathered up his hoodie and his armor. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I… I'm sorry." He then headed for the door.

Blake tried to reach after him. "Wait, Jaune, what's-?" Her words never reached him. He was racing down the hall, Blake's hand hanging uselessly in the air behind him.

He'd returned her affection at last. For a moment, _he_ was the one reaching out to her and now…

Blake looked down at her outstretched fingers then placed both hands in her lap, leaning back on this boy's bed… trying to process everything that just happened when…

She finally looked up. At a familiar pair of green eyes staring at her sitting on Jaune's bed.

Blake didn't know how much she'd seen. Only that she'd seen _enough_.

"Pyrrha…" Blake began, before Pyrrha turned too, darting down the opposite hallway.

And once more Blake reached feebly after her, knowing she had gone and added to her guilt -and Pyrrha's- at the worst possible time.


	11. Too Much

**Chapter Eleven: Too Much**

* * *

Neo was a bit wary at first when she slipped into the bullhead and went up to the Atlas flagship, but she'd gained a measure of confidence after posing as a nurse during her _last_ stealth action, helping to extract Mercury Black after he feigned an injury in the tournament. And now, posing as an Atlas soldier, her silence was even more welcome. No one questioned why a low-ranking trooper kept her mouth shut. Really, the most difficult part of the ascent was trying to squeeze her hair into a corporal's cap and carefully concealing her umbrella from prying eyes. All sleight of hand, all practical tricks she'd learned long ago and Roman helped her refine.

She was so close to him now… she'd finally receive her reward. She uploaded Cinder's virus to Atlas's flagship and let General Ironwood's robot army turn on their masters, and then she and Roman would get a good seat to watch Beacon fall, comparatively safe from the fighting on the ground. Neo would probably also have to kill a handful of Atlesian soldiers, but since Ironwood insisted on manning his ship with the same toy robots, it'd be less of a logistical challenge than it might first appear.

As she leaned back in her seat Neo observed one of the other soldiers watching the Vytal Festival on his Scroll. The two commentators were reviewing highlights from earlier in the tournament and trying to scrub any mention of the first round in the finals by deliberately _not_ showing the fights Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black took part in. The poor blonde couldn't catch a break…

Well, it hardly mattered. She wasn't going to live through the day.

But then, neither would-

Neo shook her head, risking her long mane spilling out of the small cap she'd tried to contain it within. She preferred being noticed –being _discovered_ \- to thinking about him. It still cause a deep, painful _falling_ sensation in her chest when she remembered him. When she thought of this too-large Atlas military uniform Neo briefly recalled trying to wiggle her head out of his hoodie, and how far she'd had to roll up the sleeves to stick her hands out.

He was already gone from her life. Soon he'd be gone from the world. There was no need to think of him.

There was another man she loved waiting just ahead.

* * *

Jaune was still scrambling to put his armor on when he headed for the nearest transport to take him up to the Amity Colosseum. Once he'd finally sat down –somewhere with enough space to finish adjustments at that- Jaune couldn't bring himself to become comfortable. He preferred the nagging pain of his breastplate chafing him to the thoughts running through his mind now.

He'd done it again. He'd made the same mistake _again_.

What was wrong with him? His partner needed him and instead of chasing after her like he should've, he allowed himself to be weak and lie on the ground, and then he botched things even further by turning his attention to an entirely different girl who'd tried very hard _not_ to act on the feelings she'd had about him so as not to complicate things further between them (and all their other friends at that) and now…

Was it just because he was still depressed after what happened with Neo? Was he so desperate for some form of affection –something which Blake had _already tried to offer him_ \- that he seized an opportunity to act? Or was he in more pain than he thought from Pyrrha's throw and trying to do something –anything- that might have worked, because at least at one time it had been what Blake wanted?

Or did he want to kiss Blake too? Was he interested in her now too?

When did all this happen to him? Wasn't he still trying to ask Weiss to a dance a few weeks ago? And hadn't he just broken up with a different girl a few days after that, because it turned out he'd been so oblivious as to not notice she was a criminal who tried to kill his friends?

Jaune tried to decide on some sort of functional order to proceed in. He looked down at his Scroll and thought about who to contact.

He should explain himself to Blake, and tell her he was at fault and again mention he was sorry he'd acted so rashly. He'd been overcome by some weird mix of gratitude and grief and acted on an emotion… an emotion she now clearly knew he had, and no longer one either of them could deny. And based on how Blake had reacted, she hadn't forgotten how _she_ felt about _him_ when she'd kissed him before the dance.

No, Pyrrha was his first priority. She was the one who still had a finals match ahead of her and a serious problem weighing heavily on her. Jaune had to reach her first: she was the whole reason he was on his way up to the colosseum, in the hope she'd gone ahead early before the participants were announced.

He moved over to Pyrrha in his list of contacts and thought about how to proceed. He wasn't good at talking, and whether he was good at acting was still up in the air, but maybe… maybe if he had time to think about what he said he'd do a _bit_ better.

 _I want you to know I'm okay, that you didn't hurt me,_ Jaune tried, before quickly erasing it. That'd only remind her and make her feel worse.

 _I thought about what you said and I'm sorry if I didn't understand, but I want to and_ \- Jaune erased it before he'd finished his thought. That text really was more assuaging his own conscience than Pyrrha's; trying to excuse himself for being blind to her problems.

He wanted to tell her everything was okay… or if it wasn't, that it would be eventually. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't upset with her for acting out, that he only ever wanted to help her with the pressure she was under. He wanted to assure her that no matter what happened to her in the tournament he was proud of her and would never once falter in that feeling.

His finger rested over the screen for a long time.

Jaune put his Scroll away and finished adjusting his armor placement.

* * *

Blake was very late when she finally went to meet Weiss. The stall wasn't very crowded, but Weiss still made a point to mention how she'd saved Blake a seat at the countertop. Weiss never missed an opportunity to remind her friends of the lengths she went to on their behalf, in that strangely endearing manner of hers'.

Blake barely spoke when she sat down, listening to Weiss do the talking about what had been going on, with Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck going over earlier rounds of the tournament to fill the airtime as the remaining six finalists gathered in the stadium. Blake was looking at the television screen but wasn't _watching_ any of it… her mind was back in the JNPR dorm, when Jaune kissed her and Pyrrha's eyes met Blake's just after he'd left.

He returned her feelings. He just didn't _want_ to.

Blake knew that only too well. She'd spent so long running from what she'd thought, tried constantly to downplay her feelings or outright deny them and then ignored all of that for a single moment. And then he'd been willing to do the same.

She should've been elated, and at least on some level she _really_ was. Then she thought of the look in Pyrrha's eyes…

How long had Blake resisted these thoughts before she acted on them? It'd been pretty obvious from all the way back to initiation how Pyrrha felt about Jaune and Blake had written him off then and there. She hadn't given him much thought at all until the end of the first semester and the night at the docks when he… how her life had changed on that night.

Her thoughts shifted over to Sun and his similarly earnest efforts on Blake's behalf. She may well have been leading him on a bit, if even unintentionally. She wasn't sure exactly how she felt about him, even if Sun's feelings towards her were pretty clearly out in the open. It made her empathize with Jaune a bit, to just respond when life suddenly became complicated with what seemed like the right decision at the time. Even now she wondered what she should tell Sun… _if_ she should tell him anything at all.

Pyrrha was a more immediate concern. She and Blake weren't exactly close, but Pyrrha was her friend and Blake owed her an explanation at the least. All Blake had to do was acknowledge how she felt about Jaune, and focus on that aspect… if nothing else Pyrrha would believe how someone liked Jaune and kept it to themselves as long as they possibly could.

Speaking of Pyrrha, it looked like she was going to be competing tonight after all against-

Weiss had the same reaction Blake did when they saw her opponent: Penny Polendina, the strange girl Ruby befriended… and coincidentally _also_ happened to play a pretty big role in that night at the docks.

Weiss and Blake exchanged looks, turned to their drinks and settled in.

* * *

 _You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos._

Pyrrha had been here so many times before. Shield up, spear at the ready, defending her torso. Just another round like all the others.

 _What I did tonight, I'm not sure I know what the right thing is._

A philosophical quandary best left for another day. The fight lay ahead. The fight was simple and the fight was pure. There was victory and there was defeat. Either one would teach a lesson.

 _If you really believe it's your destiny to save the world you can't let anything stand in your way._

Her friends had faith in her. _Jaune_ had faith in her. There was no reason to doubt in this place. This place was her element; her home.

 _We can't transfer Amber's powers to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to._

They'd need her answer. Pyrrha had already told them she'd help and still they waited. No, that was a problem for later. That was not where her mind needed to be now.

The girl from Atlas was skilled. Her array of swords rushed so rapidly through the air and her every movement was an elegant sway. Pyrrha was spending more time keeping up than going on the offensive; not playing to her strengths at all.

 _I know this is hard for you to hear… but you have to hear it._

Pyrrha eventually found her way back into the fray and pushed her opponent away. She was surprisingly heavy for such a small girl.

 _None of it makes sense! This isn't how things were supposed to happen!_

Then her opponent raced back at her and delivered a devastating kick to Pyrrha's midsection, knocking her for a loop. Then her foe's swords caught up with Pyrrha almost as soon as she'd landed, knocking Milo and Akouo from her hands. Pyrrha tried to call them back with her Semblance, only for the swords to keep her disarmed, and then her foe gathered those swords together, raising them over her head.

So many swords… too many to count, too many to stop…

Jaune lying wounded, face first on the ground. Slowly rising, looking up with his piercing blue eyes…

Swords. Enemy. Battle. Danger.

Pyrrha reacted, releasing power long held back. Swords that should've found their mark turned around and ensnared her opponent, wrapping her up with taut metal wire…

…cutting through her…

Pyrrha looked on in horror at all she'd done, on all she'd unleashed, on all she'd _wrought_ …

* * *

Cinder began her speech and took over control of the CCT. The distraction was in place, and Neo exploited it, striking quickly at the crew of the flagship Blue Two. Once she was certain the bridge was captured, she disabled the communication system and deactivated the Atlesian knights patrolling the ship corridors and headed down to lockup.

She gathered his affects. She couldn't believe they'd taken his precious hat away. She would never have been so cruel.

Neo then headed to the brig, holding Roman's cane in one hand and her umbrella in the other. When she opened the cell she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Well… it's about time."

When Roman stepped out from captivity, the first thing Neo did was give him his cane and his garb. The moment Roman finished placing his hat Neo leapt at him and pulled him into a tight hug.

She'd gone too long without this feeling. Holding him again… finally she was where she needed to be. Finally she was no longer alone.

She heard Roman glance back and forth before he returned her embrace, holding her to him for a few precious, wonderful moments before breaking his way free. "What's the plan, kid?"

Neo led him by the hand to the lift and back up to the bridge, typing out Cinder's little recommendations on her Scroll. Roman agreed to some, but was quick to assert something a bit more… _fun_.

When Roman was at the controls and firing at the other two Atlas ships, he was laughing like a man possessed. "Oh, it is _good_ to be back!"

Neo watched him with a small smile as he played with the buttons on the console. They were secure in the flagship while the Grimm broke into Beacon and the White Fang landed and brought in even more. They were still in a pretty dangerous location and the sky was slowly filling up with more of the flying Grimm, but they were safe and they were together.

Just a while longer… it'd all be over soon…

* * *

Pyrrha was so despondent from her action she didn't even think of the Grimm breaking into the colosseum above her head. She didn't respond at all to a giant Nevermore landing directly in front of her.

She faintly heard Jaune call out her name. She couldn't respond to him. She didn't want to look at him, knowing she'd have to look in his eyes and remember what she'd done: to him and to Penny both.

The giant avian Grimm drew nearer, called to Pyrrha's overpowering despair. The colosseum was filled with all manner of negative emotion, but none so deep and dark as Pyrrha's. At the moment no one else saw a Grimm bearing down on them and stopped to ask themselves if they deserved such a fate.

The Nevermore screeched in pain. Pyrrha looked up and saw Ruby hoisting one of Penny's discarded swords, standing protectively before her friend. "Leave her alone!"

The Nevermore took flight again, circling overhead before once more bearing down on them… only for a series of weapons lockers to descend onto the massive Grimm, pinning it to the stadium floor under the onslaught. Students from Beacon, Haven, Atlas, and Shade alike poured out to collect their weapons, fighting off the beast. After a number of attacks in tandem, Yatsuhashi Daichi and Sage Ayana finished the Grimm off with their swords, and the Grimm slowly dissipated.

Pyrrha tried to look up at Ruby through teary eyes, even as she remained kneeling on the arena floor. "Ruby, I…" She stopped to lift a piece of Penny's cloth, torn apart by the sword or the wire, sent to sever from its bearer by Pyrrha's own hand. "…I'm so sorry."

"Me too," Ruby sadly remarked, before turning angry. "But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right."

Pyrrha looked up as Jaune walked over to her, holding her weapons and offering them to her. "Whoever was on that microphone, _they're_ the ones that did this. And we have to make sure they don't take anyone else."

Pyrrha did eventually summon the strength to stand and accept her weapons back from him. He was right; one life had already been lost and it was their duty to ensure no more followed with it. She buried her pain as best she could, focusing on the task at hand, on the determination required to defend her school and her kingdom from those who would do it harm.

Though she could only bear to look at Jaune so long. Turning her attention to the Grimm would help with that.

* * *

On the ground far below, Blake and Weiss had done a fair enough job standing against the Grimm and the White Fang, but then the tide of battle turned against them when the Atlesian knights they'd been fighting alongside abruptly turned on them, attacking only the humans, hunters-in-training and civilians alike. They tried to fight as best they could, but they were cut off from most of their friends and allies. Weiss helped carry the load for Blake by using her Glyphs, and she was burning through Aura fast trying to maintain the frantic pace.

Weiss never once faltered, turning her attention to another Atlas mech gone rogue, attacking the actual human members of the Atlesian military, waving at Blake to accompany her: "Come on!"

Then, as if one dangerous enemy wasn't enough challenge to add, an Alpha Beowolf dropped out from a crashing bullhead and immediately turned its attention to fleeing civilians. Blake eyed the Grimm and Weiss turned her attention back to the renegade Atlas tech, before turning around to fondly tell her teammate: "Be safe."

Blake went after the mature, armored Grimm but halted her pursuit when she noticed the Alpha scaling up the side of another crumbling building. A scream caught the attention of Blake's sensitive ears and she followed it to the demolished, burning dining hall, where she saw an Atlas soldier thrown across the room by…

By…

"No," Blake whispered, her eyes wide.

A short time ago she'd told Jaune she wasn't over the very first man she'd ever fallen in love with. Not long before that she'd occasionally reach out and be disappointed not to find him sleeping next to her. When she first came to Beacon she suffered many sleepless nights as she thought of him alone, crying out for her to return after she fled their attempted train robbery… and she had taken a long time to sever the cars from one another because no matter how far he'd fallen she hadn't wished to let him go.

Now he was attacking innocent people. Not the SDC, not a political adversary, not people with power they liked to abuse… but civilians who only came to partake in a festival. And according to Yang, the White Fang had helped release Grimm into the school, and he still led them in Vale.

"Adam?" Blake couldn't bring herself to believe it.

Adam turned his attention to Blake and smiled… a sight Blake had never known could be so terrifying. "Hello, my darling."

* * *

Team SSSN and Team JNPR were fighting the Grimm at the base of the tower when the massive Grimm dragon awoke, emerging from the mountains and flapping down to meet them. It dwarfed every other Grimm any of them had seen –it eclipsed the Atlesian flagship and was nearly as massive as Beacon tower- and it was approaching their position, adding renewed members to the horde of Grimm already menacing them.

Pyrrha tried to turn her attention to Jaune for a moment, to try and assure him that things would be all right, that now that they were all working in collaboration they could repel the darkness… when she saw Professor Ozpin standing at the entrance to Beacon tower, looking out at her.

She knew what had to be done. She knew that without this change, whatever her fine hopes were… at best their victory would be bittersweet. If the machine in the vault worked…

Pyrrha stepped towards Ozpin without saying a word to her teammates. "Where's she going?" Nora wondered.

"I'll go find out," Jaune promised. "You two- keep fighting."

He moved to follow her, and Professor Ozpin raised no objection, leading them both into the elevator and heading down. Jaune frantically glanced between them, undoubtedly waiting to be filled in.

Pyrrha wasn't sure where to start. At the moment it seemed like they were simply retreating, moving to a safe underground vault while lives were lost above them. Pyrrha wasn't sure that telling him their _actual_ intent would be an improvement… but there'd been far too many secrets between them lately, and guilt had already cost her too much.

"We need a weapon to win this fight," Pyrrha told him. "And Professor Ozpin thinks I can wield it."

* * *

Blake's first instinct was to retreat. Her feet were unconsciously leading her backwards.

"Running away again?" Adam mused. "Is that what you've become, my love? A _coward_?"

"Why are you doing this?" Blake demanded. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around it. It was too much, even for him.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember?" Adam asked her. "We were destined to light the fires of revolution!"

Adam turned his attention to an Atlas student lying on the ground, drawing his sword and leveling it over the poor boy's chest. "Consider _this_ … _the spark_."

Ever since her arrival at Beacon, Blake had tended to choose the path of least resistance, not getting involved, even when her fellow Faunus were actively persecuted. Thinking on that –thinking that Jaune had made amends to Velvet before she had- reminded her what it meant to stay in the shadows and regret, to fear the act of trying to make a difference.

She didn't want to fall like Adam, to have her beliefs contorted into this needless spite. But she also wanted to act if she could, to use the abilities she had to bear for the benefit of _everyone_. That student from Atlas… a year ago she'd be cheering his death just because of the kingdom he called home. In the first semester, Blake wouldn't have lost any sleep over hearing someone from Atlas was dead. A few moments earlier, one of her best friends from Atlas fought at her side against her own country's army.

How could she give any less? If she were truly the equal of her friend, if their shared sentience, their mutual belief in duty and effort meant anything at all to her…

If she was more than the spiteful animal Adam had become…

Blake interceded, clashing the blade of Gambol Shroud against Adam's Wilt, defiantly declaring: "I'm _not_ running."

Blake pushed him away from the student, but Adam didn't seem to mind at all. He refocused his attention entirely on Blake. "You _will_."

He kicked her away, knocking Blake to the floor. A Creep, sensing the outpouring of negative emotion from either of them, moved to join them in the dining hall, only for Adam to fire Blush and destroy the Grimm before it drew any closer to his target.

Whatever decision Adam made to bring the Grimm into Beacon apparently didn't involve giving Blake to his erstwhile allies. But then, Blake wasn't sure dealing with Adam was any better.

As if to hammer the point home, Adam smiled at her. She remembered once enjoying the sight… and now it filled her with more dread than every other monster she'd seen today.

"But not before you suffer for your betrayal, _my love_ ," Adam promised.

* * *

Neo leveled her blade at Ruby Rose's throat while the girl clung to her scythe, imbedded in the side of the Atlas ship hull. _Finally_ she'd be rid of the girl who'd vexed Roman so long, and they'd sail away from the fight not only alive but with the added satisfaction of killing a hated and persistent adversary. It was turning into a far better night than she'd anticipated, and for weeks Neo had thought of nothing else but seeing Roman again.

"Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world," Roman told Ruby as he strode over. "You can't stop 'em, _I_ can't stop 'em…"

Neo was enjoying listening to his voice. She wasn't really paying attention to the girl she held at her blade, because foolish as it was to stop and gloat, Roman truly did it with such flair and relish.

"And if you can't beat 'em…"

Neo's attention was away from Ruby Rose too long, and the girl seized her moment, reaching up to push a button on Neo's umbrella. This single act, this one movement resulted in Neo's weapon rendered useless, and the intense wind blasting them about was caught in her umbrella, pushing it off the hull… and dragging Neo right off the ship with it.

"Neo!" she heard Roman call after her as she tumbled down through the Grimm-filled skies. Neo couldn't hope to right herself, and light as she was the wind wouldn't push her back higher in the air; all she could do was slowly descend, away from safety, away from Roman, away from _everything_ she'd been promised in return for helping Cinder's plans come to fruition.

Not now… not when she'd finally had a clear path of escape _and_ the opportunity to eliminate an enemy. And she was dropping down into a place full of enemies. The only life that still mattered to her was hundreds of feet over her head.

She tried not to be too desperate and thought quickly of what to do. If she fell back to somewhere safe and hunkered down, she could contact Roman and find a place outside the kingdom to meet him. It wasn't exactly the plan they'd had and it'd be a lot more difficult for her to reach him, but at least he'd be safe in the ship and Neo would be the one shouldering the difficult task of surviving on the ground.

She was nearly down, still on the outskirts of Beacon. That'd make escape… problematic, as she'd have to expend energy putting on a disguise and working her way to a ship to take her away from the academy grounds, but if she moved quickly…

Neo set foot on the ground and immediately searched for Grimm. When she saw no immediate threat she pulled out her Scroll to contact Roman… only to hear a loud explosion high above her. Blue Two began sinking from the sky, smoke billowing from its chassis.

She was in the midst of sending a text to Roman when his screen abruptly changed, the contact information covered by an error message, simply stating: **SIGNAL LOST**.

Neo continued to stare at the two words, frantically tapping the surface of the screen with her finger. She tried to get a response, to finish her message to him. She tried to move the two words blocking her path like she would dismiss an annoying popup when browsing the CCT.

It wasn't possible. Roman wouldn't… he _couldn't_ …

His Scroll had been destroyed. The fight against Rose had simply cut him off from her, or the explosion on the ship had damaged his possessions… and somehow not hurt Roman either.

Neo looked up and watched the Atlas flagship continue its slow, smoky fall… and noticed a tiny red dot descending through the sky too, firing shots from a sniper rifle to keep aloft and reduce velocity.

Ruby Rose lived. It was possible she'd been cowardly and fled before Roman.

Or she-

That meant that Roman-

No, no, no, no, no.

He wasn't dead; he couldn't be dead. If he were dead then…

Then…

Neo looked down at her Scroll again, as one of only two contacts faded from her list. Neo felt her hand shaking so much she could barely even look at the surface of the screen.

Neo fell to her knees and slammed her free fist into the paved ground. She tried to scream out in anguish, to cry out his name, but no words could leave her. None ever had, not even for the one she loved.

Ruby Rose… Ruby Rose… Ruby Rose would _die_ for this. Slowly, painfully… until she felt the same pain Neo did now a hundredfold. Until she knew what it was to be so lost, so bereft, so…

Alone.

She'd felt this before, when Roman was only captured, and she thought he'd be sent away to Atlas. This pain like a blade taken to her chest, her thundering heart hurting her more with every beat. She remembered the time before he'd come into her life, when she'd been alone, when she'd struggled to survive and had no better reason to live than surviving another day. When Roman came into her life and gave her safety and happiness, he'd also taken them away the moment he'd left it.

But she was not without purpose, oh no. That she did not want for.

Ruby Rose and her little team; her heiress from Atlas, her White Fang defector, her big sister with the long mane of blonde hair.

The White Fang who'd already betrayed them once and failed to play their role in the alliance they'd formed time and time again.

Cinder's faction who'd used Roman for their own ends, and then used Neo to aid in their infiltration by promising her a reward she just saw fall from the sky to crash and burn.

All around her were enemies. All around her were people who in one way or another contributed to her state now, robbing the world of Roman Torchwick's flame and robbing Neo of her love and her family.

She lost everything that mattered to her. It seemed fitting they should suffer the same fate.

Another sound drew Neo's attention; a faint calling from a familiar voice and the sound of a concussion burst and the impact of a pellet round. Neo moved towards it, her hand still shaking as she tightened her grip on her umbrella.

That blonde mane came into view.

Her fury had many targets now, but Neo certainly wouldn't mind starting with that one.

* * *

"This could have been our day! Can't you see that?!" Adam raged at her, even after he'd already knocked Blake to the ground. The anger spewing from his words was far worse than the fury of his blade, because it reminded Blake of how she once felt… of how she'd been seduced by the same notion.

But always in sight of a nobler goal than one that allowed for harming the innocent. "I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted _peace_!"

Blake rose to her knees and collapsed Gambol Shroud to fire at Adam, only for him to unsheathe Wilt quickly enough to absorb the impact of each shot. "What you want is impossible!"

Adam struck her with the back of his right hand. Blake fell hard to the ground, remembering this wasn't the first time she'd felt his hand after he raised it to her. Not so long ago she'd have forgiven him this, believing his passion had carried him too far and not that anger and spite had consumed him to the point of fervent madness.

"But I understand," Adam went on. "Because all I want… is _you_ , Blake."

Blake tried to raise Gambol Shroud again, but Adam kicked it from her grip. The force of his strike pushed Blake flat onto her back. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves…" He knelt down so she could see him more clearly, holding up a fist to clench. "…I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."

"Blake!"

Both Adam and Blake turned their heads to the sound. Blake's ears knew already who called out for her.

Outside the destroyed dining hall, Yang fired a burst from Ember Celica to knock away one of the White Fang attacking her. She glanced frantically around the battlefield and called again: "Blake, where are you?!"

Adam looked down at Blake's widening eyes. Blake couldn't take them off Yang, as her fear compounded right before him. Adam leaned closer and promised: " _Starting with her_."

Yang was still looking frantically around. She hadn't seen them. Blake's eyes were still on Yang, her mind unable to leave the sight.

Adam unsheathed Wilt again and drove the blade into Blake's midsection. Blake couldn't contain the brief cry of pain that left her, drawing Yang's attention right where Adam wanted it to be. "Huh?"

Adam pulled his sword back and sheathed it once more, waiting for his prey to come to him. Blake had seen him do this time and again, burying his emotions just long enough to exploit his enemy's own.

" _ **GET AWAY FROM HER!**_ " Yang shouted, her temper flaring.

"No… please…" Blake whispered helplessly from the ground, trying feebly to reach out to Yang.

Yang's Aura erupted as she unleashed her Semblance. Blake's sensitive ears heard stone crack; like a great weight had smashed into the ground beneath Yang's feet.

Yang leapt through the air at Adam, rearing back her fist. Adam concentrated all the kinetic energy drawn into Wilt from the attacks Blake had tried beforehand and unsheathed his blade in rapid motion.

He struck Yang at the neck. Blake watched in abject horror as she saw Yang's head slowly separate from her body…

…and then Yang's body shattered into dozens of pieces, each fragment disappearing as quickly as it came into being.

Almost like…

…an illusion.

Adam looked down at the shattered pieces of what his actions had wrought, only to very suddenly find himself struck by a thin blade slicing across his torso. A short girl clad in white, pink, and brown appeared from nowhere, continuing to cut him with a blade poking out from an umbrella.

Blake recognized the assailant at once and looked back outside the crumbling cafeteria. Yang –presumably the real Yang- lay on the ground, having apparently been driven into stone and pavement by Neo. Adam immediately turned his attention to the short girl and changed tactics, trying to overpower her with his greater size and strength, only for Neo to deftly move around him and attack his unguarded flank.

Of all the people who might've come to her rescue…

Neo was never one to be forthcoming about her motives, and Blake very much doubted the girl had come to help her, rather she'd come solely to attack Adam. And once one of the two emerged victorious from that battle…

Blake collected Gambol Shroud and dragged herself outside to Yang, trying to gather up her Aura again. When Blake reached Yang she feared the worst, but Yang's soft, muted breaths gave Blake the chance to catch breath of her own.

She cast one glance back at Neo and Adam still engaged in battle, before forcing herself to stand and supporting Yang at her shoulder, helping her friend away from the scene, hoping their respective enemies would fight long enough to give them time to get away.

There were still others fighting at the base of the tower… it was where Weiss had run to. Blake would be slow getting there, but she'd come very close to losing one friend already. It didn't matter she was wounded, it didn't matter Yang was out: she would _not_ let Adam harm anyone else.

* * *

The process had been excruciating as the light poured into Pyrrha. She faintly saw Jaune turn to face her, to try and offer her some kind of support as she tried to draw this strange, unfamiliar Aura into herself.

Then, undergoing similar strain on the other side of their connection, Pyrrha felt it… felt the life leaving Amber. She was moments away from death, seconds away from passing what remained of her soul into a new vessel.

An arrow whistled through the air and struck Amber's pod. Alarms went off as the glass shattered.

The pain traveled between them, as Amber briefly returned to life to know the feeling of cold steel lodged in her chest. Her eyes opened as she saw the woman who'd nearly killed her once already, returning to finish the job. She struggled to breathe for a moment…

Her eyes drifted shut as life left her. Her Aura retreated from Pyrrha and went to its rightful bearer, the woman in red who'd waited so long for this moment to achieve her completion.

Pyrrha pounded her fists against the glass of her pod as she watched the woman in red ascend into the air, charged up with the Aura, embracing her destiny and taking the mantle of Fall Maiden…

Jaune tried to attack her. Ozpin called out a warning, only for the woman in red to use only the smallest burst of power, knocking him away with contemptuous ease.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed, still pounding on the glass.

Pyrrha reached out with her Semblance and flung the door of the pod right at Amber's murderer. The woman in red easily knocked it away, and Pyrrha ran out to charge, drawing her weapons back to her hands…

Ozpin interceded, putting his arm in Pyrrha's path. "Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda… Ironwood… Qrow! Bring them here right away; the tower cannot fall!"

"But I can help!" Pyrrha protested.

Ozpin met her eye after averting it a long time. "You'd only get in the way."

Pyrrha turned her attention to Jaune, still lying on the floor. Perhaps Pyrrha would be able to help, but if Jaune remained… if he was still in this madwoman's path…

Pyrrha obeyed her headmaster, helping Jaune to his feet and ushering him towards the elevator. The woman in red watched them go, but apparently didn't consider them threat enough to try and stop their retreat.

From the elevator Pyrrha saw bright red Aura erupt from the mysterious woman and green energy from Ozpin, the two colors clashing in the dark.

* * *

The Faunus attacked her in a furious rage. He chose the wrong tactic.

From the way he kept re-sheathing his sword between attacks, it was clear his style relied more on counterattacks and punishing aggressive actions, not unlike Neo's own combat focus. If he'd been more in control of his emotions he'd prove quite a challenge for Neo.

But the Faunus defector on Team RWBY was consuming his every thought. He snarled her name more than once as he tried to cut Neo down, to remove her from his path in pursuit of his real quarry.

He was seeking revenge too, but not in a simple, direct manner… in something slow and torturous. Something that could only come from a deep pain within himself, one he allowed to dictate his actions.

Neo knew that feeling well. But she reserved that special punishment for Ruby Rose, her friends, and Cinder. The White Fang may have _contributed_ to Roman's death, but in Neo's path to revenge they were just a target of opportunity; just one stepping stone on her way through the long list she'd pay back for their transgressions. Neo let the Faunus and the blonde go because she wanted them to lead her right to their little friends. And once she cut off the head of the White Fang's leader in the name of Roman Torchwick…

Neo had already worn down Adam's Aura. She just waited for him to get angry enough to make a mistake with enough of a window for her to punish him.

She aimed for his heart. Brutal assailant that he was, he must've had one to feel such pain and anguish. Such fervent hate could only come from a heart also capable of love… and love lost.

Neo heard him gasp when her blade found its mark. Blood rushed up and fell from his lips and pooled in the dark fabric of his shirt. Adam tried to raise his katana to cut her, but he couldn't manage to lift his arm.

Neo withdrew her blade. Adam fell back, clutching at his chest, blood pooling around him.

His hate had drawn the Grimm. Neo could see them coming through one of the holes in the shattered, crumbling dining hall. She turned and left Adam to the soulless monsters, knowing that he'd either die of the wound she'd given him or the Grimm drawn to his powerful hatred.

Neo faintly heard Adam say he wanted to destroy everything Blake Belladonna loved. She thought it appropriate to let him know what that meant. How it _felt_.

Cold steel right through the heart: it felt like that.

Neo left to pursue the wounded Blake and Yang, moving back into the courtyard and towards the tower.

* * *

Jaune was still focused on Ozpin's order as he and Pyrrha regrouped at the base of Beacon tower. He frantically pulled out his Scroll, running through his list of contacts. "Okay, I think I have Glynda's number… oh, where is it?"

His last attempt to text had been to Pyrrha. Passing by her name he saw Nora's, and then another just above it… three little letters that he'd never been able to delete, even though he knew he should've, and the tiny picture of her still wearing his hoodie the morning after.

Jaune put the thought aside and continued searching, but in opening up his thoughts to deliberately not dwell on his Scroll contacts, Jaune thought back to all he'd seen in his brief time in the vault below Beacon. He glanced at his partner and asked: "Pyrrha… what _was_ all of that?"

Pyrrha turned to look at him. "I…"

An explosion caught their attention and they both looked back to the tower. They heard metal clang and rend as _something_ ascended upwards through the tower. Pyrrha only saw one of the combatants levitate off her feet. She knew what it meant.

Jaune recognized it too. "But… Ozpin…"

"There's no time," Pyrrha quickly decided, focusing on Jaune. "Go. Get to Vale and call for help."

"Huh?" Jaune met her eye. "What are _you_ gonna do?"

Pyrrha still couldn't manage to look at him for very long. She turned her attention to the top of Beacon, where her adversary had fled.

Jaune was quick to realize what she had planned. "No, no, Pyrrha, you _can't_ …"

She had to. She was the only one who _could_.

"You saw how powerful she is!"

Pyrrha closed her eyes. He was right. She knew exactly what would happen when she went up there to meet her foe. She knew the result, and she had to go anyway.

These were the last moments they'd share. This was the last time she'd ever hear his voice.

"Pyrrha, I won't let you do-"

She always thought there'd be a better time. She always believed that eventually he'd realize what she wished for, and not only understand her feelings, but return them.

That wasn't where his heart was now. And she didn't deserve to be in it after the harm she'd done to him.

But before she'd always stopped herself because of the potential consequences. At long last, it no longer mattered what happened next. She didn't have to think about how he'd feel, or whether she was right or wrong, or where they'd be tomorrow. There was no right way for her to act now. There was no tomorrow.

There was Jaune and herself. Here, now, in this moment.

She kissed him. Finally, after waiting so long, after letting one opportunity after another pass by, after feeling her heart rend at the thought of Jaune kissing someone else, she finally decided to act and show him the part of her she'd never let out.

And Jaune slowly responded to her, returning the feeling, kissing her back…

How cruel life could be. If she'd acted sooner…

There was no time for her to regret. Only long enough to savor this feeling for the first and only time before she tended to her duty.

* * *

Neo had meant to pursue Blake and Yang, but at some point lost track of them. She followed the landmark of the massive tower, but didn't see anyone partaking in battle there… instead she found something quite different.

Jaune.

Of all the people she could see today… of all the faces she might recognize…

Of all those she hunted, of all those to whom she owed swift and brutal vengeance… she'd never once given him thought. For all that he had wronged her, Jaune had not contributed to Roman's fate.

And his partner Pyrrha Nikos standing beside him, looking determined… she'd never done Roman harm either. It'd be easy enough to leave them there, to let them try and fight, maybe escape this battle intact…

Easy enough until Pyrrha kissed him. Then Neo felt anger flare up again.

She approached slowly. Pyrrha broke her kiss, leaving her hands to linger on Jaune's chest and cheek. Neo coveted Pyrrha her height, that she could kiss him without making him bend; that she could so easily kiss him on her feet.

But for some reason she apologized, sadly whispering: "I'm sorry…"

Pyrrha pushed Jaune into a weapon locker. With a wave of her hand she sealed him inside it, Jaune now only visible through thin slits in the stark gray metal.

"Hey! Wait!" Jaune protested, as Pyrrha started inputting commands on the exterior of the locker. "Stop, stop! Pyrrha, _please_ don't do this!"

Now she'd harmed him; harmed the only life here Neo lacked even the slightest wish to harm. Neo was no longer interested in sparing Pyrrha's life.

She knew she couldn't be slow. She didn't wait a moment longer.

Pyrrha Nikos moved to input the command to launch Jaune away when another source of metal reached her senses. A blade pressed to the small of her back.

Pyrrha stopped her motion, glancing behind her to Neo. The shorter girl adjusted her positon slightly so Jaune could clearly see her.

"Pyrrha, you don't have to-" Then Jaune finally took notice of their new arrival. " _ **Neo?!**_ "

She met his eye. Stunned though he was, and whatever had happened between them, he could still meet her eye.

Neo hoped he'd still be able to do so when she took action and killed his pretty partner right in front of him.


	12. Love Will Kill You

**Chapter Twelve: Love Will Kill You**

* * *

Weiss was grateful to see Zwei had made it to the landing pads, but so far he was her only bunkmate to arrive. Nora and Ren were there assisting with the evacuation in whatever capacity they could, but Ren was nursing a wound of some kind in his midsection and Nora was more exhausted than Weiss had ever seen her before; at times Nora was actually _sitting down_ , and that was such a distressing sight Weiss assumed she'd fought off more Grimm than any other student involved in the battle.

Zwei yipped from her heel and started wagging his tail. Weiss turned her attention behind her as a familiar girl in a red hood bounded over. Weiss immediately extended her hands to greet her partner, placing both of them over her young friend's own. "Ruby!"

"Oh, I found you!" Ruby remarked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Ruby, where have you-"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ruby assured Weiss. "What's going on?"

"Yang went to find Blake but they haven't returned yet," Weiss explained. "The last I'd heard they were heading to the dining hall."

"And Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing," Nora added.

Sun interjected himself, walking over from the crowd of civilians loading up into Atlas transports, pointing over their heads. "Look, guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school; even the White Fang are pulling out. We _all_ have to go, _now_."

"We're not leaving…" Ren tried to stand up and protest, only to clutch at his chest and immediately drop back to one knee, Nora scooting over to try and offer him aid.

Ruby could see clearly how hard her friends had fought. She was still relatively fresh, only suffering a few hits from Torchwick and Neo before this. "I'll find them," Ruby promised, even though finding four people in the midst of the swarm of Grimm sounded like a tall order, even for her. "I'll find them, and _I'll bring them back_."

"No," Weiss protested. " _We_ will find them." She looked at each of their three friends in turn. "We'll be back."

"You'd better be!" Sun called after their retreating backs.

Ruby and Weiss headed back into the courtyard, towards the throng of Grimm. "Where do we start?" Weiss asked.

"We have a lead on Blake and Yang," Ruby reminded her. "I don't know where Jaune and Pyrrha went."

A group of Beowolves took note of them, and Ruby drew Crescent Rose, firing at each beast from afar. Weiss, slower to draw her blade, decided to change tactics, reaching for her Scroll.

"We'd better find out quickly," Weiss dryly suggested, typing in a message.

* * *

Blake's original intent had been to return to the base of Beacon tower, where Weiss had gone beforehand. Unfortunately, while the area seemed cleaned out of the renegade Atlesian knights and paladins, her path was now covered in Grimm. She took Yang into one of the old dorm rooms and hunkered down on the first floor, waiting for an opening to keep moving.

The Grimm seemed to move back in the direction of the dining hall, presumably to Adam and Neo and all the rage they were pouring out. Blake was feeling tense and afraid, but she couldn't hope to match the fury being exchanged between those two…

Until a victor emerged from that conflagration, a short girl in a white coat with a pink trim, walking towards the tower. Blake wondered what had become of Adam –and the Grimm- but shifted her focus to where Neo was going. If the other students still waited there, Neo would be dealt with.

And if they didn't…

Blake found a good place to set Yang and piled furniture in front of her to keep her out of sight. Still holding to the wound in her stomach and waiting for her Aura to catch up in mending the wound, Blake silently moved to follow after Neo, both to scout what lay ahead and to see where her enemy was moving.

As she drew nearer to the base of Beacon tower, familiar sights came into view, including two familiar people in the distance: two specks, one with short blonde hair and another with a long tail of dark red. So those two were still alive… but where were the other students of the four academies? Were they forced to fall back?

Neo was moving closer. Blake had to get to them before Neo got there, but if she moved too far away and left Yang vulnerable…

Her Scroll beeped at her. Blake, having completely forgotten about the little piece of tech in her pocket, pulled it out to find a group text from Weiss to Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune and herself. Apparently she and Ruby were on their way in.

Blake wasn't exactly pleased to hear that, but…

It was a risk they were all taking. If she went to meet with her teammates Blake could escape this fight. She could point them to Yang and Team RWBY could all get away: scarred, but not broken.

But then she'd leave Jaune and Pyrrha to Neo…

Blake sent a message to them with Yang's location, and an addendum that Blake herself was on the trail of Jaune and Pyrrha. Weiss immediately requested she wait so they could join up with her, but Blake instead told Weiss to get Yang while Blake herself saw to the other two.

Blake couldn't deny she could probably use their help in fending Neo off, but getting Yang to safety was a higher priority. And she hoped that Ruby would act on the same instinct, prioritizing saving her sister before her teammate, if only by a slim margin.

And she did. Ruby took Weiss's Scroll to say they'd get Yang and then be back for Blake and the others. Blake didn't try to dissuade them, because she didn't want them to stray from that instruction and try to save her too.

No more of her friends were dying today. _No more._

* * *

Pyrrha was contemplating how to deal with the blade pressed to her back. If she tried to move the metal away, Neo could respond more quickly and drive it in. At best Pyrrha would escape with a minor wound… and then Neo would follow up and attack her again to finish the job. Pyrrha turned her attention back to the locker she'd placed Jaune within, thinking if nothing else she could launch him away and get him to safety. Jaune wasn't trying to dissuade her any longer; his attention was entirely on Neo.

"Neo, please don't hurt her," Jaune requested. "Please, can we just talk about this for a few seconds?"

Poor choice of words. How could Neo hold a conversation with him?

Now that Pyrrha thought about it in greater detail, she recalled all Jaune had explained about his various times with Neo, including the night they spent together after the breach. Apparently Neo could convey a great deal with just her touch and her eyes. Pyrrha tried to look back at Neo with her peripheral vision, but the only expression she could discern was a quizzical sort of smile.

Why was Jaune bothering to try and dissuade her? Pyrrha was standing right next to Jaune when he asked Neo if any of what they'd had was genuine and she'd just shaken her head. That was as clear a denial as Neo could offer. And as Jaune himself acknowledged, he'd never really known her at all… Pyrrha was probably better at predicting her behavior than Jaune was. And Pyrrha didn't think Neo was likely to be convinced _not_ to kill someone she wanted to kill. The only problem was that Pyrrha couldn't get out from under Neo's blade in time to push her away. The only thing she knew she could do quickly enough was send Jaune to safety by launching the locker into Vale.

That may well have been the only thing Neo was waiting on: for Pyrrha to move first so Neo could capitalize on whatever she decided to do. If Pyrrha resisted and tried to fight, Neo would stab her. If Pyrrha sent Jaune away, Neo would stab her. Really, if Pyrrha moved at all Neo would stab her.

There was only one positive outcome she could see. All she had to do was press the button.

"Drop it."

Pyrrha knew that voice. The last time she'd heard it, her name carried on the air while Pyrrha ran away.

Neo turned to look to her right as Gambol Shroud was leveled beside her head, Blake holding her finger beside the trigger.

Pyrrha hadn't been in any hurry to see Blake again, but she could certainly think of worse people to come to her rescue.

Of course, they'd already been here once before with Neo between them and that hadn't gone well for them either.

"Blake?" Jaune wondered. "Guys, can you get me out of this thing so we can talk?"

Pyrrha wasn't keen on his suggestion –she was still quite interested in sending him somewhere safe- but given the situation they now found themselves in, having an extra sword pointed at Neo would be beneficial.

Pyrrha tapped her fingers on the console, inputting a new command. Neo waited, no doubt looking for a good opportunity to kill her once Jaune was finally released… but Neo couldn't kill Pyrrha without Blake firing in response. Or at least, so Pyrrha hoped.

Jaune did emerge, exchanging looks with each of the three. Pyrrha had just tried to shove him in to a locker and send him away, and a few hours earlier he'd kissed Blake and then run away trying to cover his mistake, and he wasn't even sure where to start and what to think about Neo.

"Okay, guys, can we all just… put the weapons down for a bit?" Jaune asked, putting up both hands with his palms extended. "Can we please just talk about this?"

Blake jerked her head at Neo. "I tried that once before. I'm not inclined to give _her_ a second chance."

Neo kept her blade pressed to Pyrrha's back but did shift her attention to Jaune, meeting his eye again. She tried to suppress it, but he'd looked into them often enough to know when she wasn't being honest… she'd been insistent on looking him in the eye because he was one of the only ones who could.

"Neo," Jaune requested. "Please."

He was unarmed, but Neo didn't think he'd attack her anyway. The Faunus would kill her without hesitation if it seemed expedient. Pyrrha Nikos would no doubt be protective of her partner, based on what _she_ thought he needed protected from. And Jaune had already failed to fight on Neo's side when she'd been here before.

Never believe, never trust, never hope. More than ever now she had to believe what Roman taught her.

Jaune reached over to Blake, gently pushing down on the back of her hand. With his free hand he moved to place a hand over the top of Neo's to try and convince her to put her umbrella down.

It was the first time Neo felt a hand over her own in weeks. The first time she'd felt him since the night after the breach. It was something she'd missed.

She tried to ignore the thought, to not let herself be taken in. He may not have lied to her, he may not have deceived her, he may even have helped her, but he couldn't stop his friends from interfering and driving Neo away. Even if she believed him, even if she trusted him, she couldn't…

She couldn't…

He was still looking in her eyes. He was still holding his hand over hers'. And more even than that, he was still trying to persuade his Faunus friend to lower her gun.

If Neo relaxed her grip she'd be vulnerable, and Jaune had already failed to save her. Experience taught her not to expect anything different; this night in particular firmly reinforced all that Roman had taught her. If Neo hadn't branched out to Jaune she may never have needed to make her alliance with Cinder and Roman… Roman wouldn't have…

Neo turned her attention to his hand still on hers'. Without Roman, she'd never know the feeling from anyone else but him. And it seemed he was still willing to do so, even after she'd denied ever loving him at all.

More even than revenge, it seemed… she would risk so much more if it meant she wouldn't have to be alone.

Neo lowered her hand, retracting the blade back into her umbrella. She turned her focus back to the White Fang defector, waiting to see if her more pragmatic mindset would result in a quick end, and render all her efforts moot.

But Blake Belladonna complied with Jaune's request, and lowered her weapon. Jaune released his grip on both their hands before focusing his attention back on Neo.

"There's so much I want to know right now," Jaune told her. "But right now we have something very important we have to do, and I only want to know one thing."

Jaune pointed behind Neo's head to Beacon tower. "The woman in there –the one who gave a speech after she hacked the CCT- just fought our headmaster, and it sounded like she beat him."

Cinder. Neo would be very happy to kill her for leading Roman into all of this. But she'd be equally happy to be rid of the Faunus girl in her vicinity; more than any of the others she'd been responsible for his downfall. Ruby Rose was the one Neo wanted to suffer, but Blake Belladonna was only a step behind her on those in dire need of recompense.

"I only need to know one thing, Neo… _is that woman your enemy_?" Jaune asked her.

Neo smiled and nodded. It was nice she got to be sincere in her answer.

"Okay, I take it back, I need to know two things," Jaune admitted. "Will you help us stop her?"

"What?" Pyrrha interjected. "Jaune, she _just_ tried to attack me!"

"Because the last time we saw her you tried to capture her," Jaune reminded her. "You asked me to send you a picture of her so you could confirm she was the same girl Yang fought during the breach."

Neo's eyes fixated on Pyrrha. _She_ was the one who prompted Jaune to snap the picture?

And now Neo was thinking about how warm and comfortable –if oversized- Jaune's hoodie was, and how she recalled that morning they shared together. As though she wasn't having enough trouble focusing her thoughts today…

Jaune focused his attention on Pyrrha. "I fully meant to send you the pic after I snapped it, until I saw Neo react. So I sent it to Neo instead, so she could see what I saw… so that she might be willing to _let_ me share pictures of her and let my friends know about her, when she was ready."

Neo recalled the moment well, of Jaune wanting to remember the moment they shared, and to have something to look back on that moment… of his lover the morning after. Neo still had the text chain; she'd never been able to delete it.

Jaune turned his attention to Blake. "And the last time you were in this situation, Blake, you lowered your gun and gave Neo a chance to explain herself, because you understood what it was to lose your way."

Jaune turned back to Neo. "And… and I know you didn't feel the same thing for me, but I really do believe that whatever you were after –whatever you wanted, whatever Roman wanted- it didn't look anything like this. Whatever you've done, whatever you've _had_ to do, I don't believe you wanted _this_."

Neo might've allowed it to happen, but wanted it? Never. All she'd wanted was happiness for herself and the ones she loved… the two men whose kindness reached her and earned her trust.

There was only one of them left now, and he was asking for her help. More specifically, he was asking for her help in killing the woman whose plan set Roman up to be used and killed for her own fleeting advantage.

"And why should we expect this time will be any different than the last?" Pyrrha asked. "Why should we believe she won't attack when our backs are turned?"

Neo had to concede it was a fair question. She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't do that anyway.

It was Blake who intervened now, turning her attention to Neo. "Why didn't you kill Yang before, when you had the chance?"

On the train, Neo was interrupted. During the battle on Beacon campus, Neo's intention had been to have the Faunus girl lead her to the rest of her team so Neo could kill them all. Her goals hadn't been noble, but by virtue of circumstance…

Neo reached slowly into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. She thought of how best to phrase it, and said: _I wanted to kill the leader of the White Fang instead_.

That would only be more accurate if she'd mentioned she meant to kill him _first_.

"Adam's… dead?" Blake asked. Her voice ran a gamut of emotions. She sounded relieved, but also… forlorn; sad. Neo recognized that feeling, if not the way it sounded. It seemed to assuage the Faunus's concern about Neo's interest in her partner, at least.

More interesting to Neo, Jaune paused to focus his attention on Blake and their eyes met. Jaune knew something of the situation there, and his expression conveyed… concern? Sympathy? And from the Faunus, a very subtle sign of appreciation.

Neo remembered that look when it came from her. Had Jaune and Blake…?

Jaune returned to addressing all of them. "We've all done things –to each other, to ourselves- that drove us apart. We all made our choices, and for whatever reason we're all _here_." Jaune pointed up at the tower again. "Ozpin told us to get help and prevent Beacon from losing the tower. I can't think of any reason for that woman to stay here surrounded by Grimm unless she wants to knock it down.

"We all have things to say, all have reasons we shouldn't trust each other," Jaune continued. "But we _have_ to trust each other now, because we're the only ones here. We're the only ones _left_."

He turned his attention to Pyrrha. "You wanted to send me away; to protect me. But I'm your partner and I have to protect you too."

He turned back to Blake. "And whatever's happened between us, whatever we don't know for sure, we _do_ know that we have a common bond; that we share something we can't fully explain but _know_ is real."

And finally he turned to Neo, holding her gaze as she always wished him to. "And whatever you may have thought of me, Neo, I believe there's more under there now –there's always been more underneath- than what anyone else bothered to see. So please… be the better person I think you really are."

Jaune stepped past her, willingly showing her his back as he unsheathed his family heirloom, Crocea Mors. "Because right now, we _all_ have to try and be better than we think we are."

Neo looked at the back of his head as he stood before the tower and the massive Grimm dragon circling around it. He must've known he was stepping into a battle he had little hope of winning.

But kill Cinder? Save the life of the only other person in the world she cared about? Neo could do that. So she stepped to join him at his side.

Not to be outdone, Blake and Pyrrha followed suit, and after all four exchanged looks they stepped forward together. Pyrrha used her Semblance to open a broken, disconnected elevator for them to travel in in pursuit of their dangerous enemy.

Mistrust still hung in the air between them, but Pyrrha and Blake were prepared to help Jaune, and if a strong fighter like Neo was willing to throw herself in Cinder's path…

Jaune didn't share their concern as he stepped into the metal crate. He was simply grateful he'd finally seemed to have done something right.

* * *

Cinder had taken some time to savor the sights from the top of Beacon tower in the Headmaster's office. Victory was nearly complete, and it wasn't like Ozpin had much use for it _now_. She didn't really care for the constant clinking of giant clock gears over her head, but she wasn't in any rush to finish the job and destroy the tower. Instead she looked out at the devastation the Grimm had caused, and the slow line of retreating dropships evacuating civilians to Vale in the distance.

So many suffered for her to reach this peak. They weren't necessarily people she _needed_ to step on to acquire her gift –really, only a single person ever needed to suffer for her to achieve her reward- but Cinder didn't pity them their plight. Anyone foolish enough to resist against overwhelming odds and not recognize the folly of fighting the dark had earned their downfall. Those scrambling to escape now were only those too slow to withdraw or those who'd fought and realized too late the battle was already lost.

The old one was still circling the tower, and making such terrible noise. When it peered inside and examined Cinder with one massive eye, she cooed at it: "Shh… this is your home now."

It was an ancient creature, probably older than the kingdom it had so long slumbered beside. It recognized her for what she was; what she had _become_. And unlike the kin it summoned to Beacon, this one probably remembered what power she had to wield and knew not to oppose her.

The dragon crawled down out of sight, no longer obstructing Cinder's view. But it provided an unpleasant reminder there was still business to attend to, so Cinder turned towards Ozpin's desk, to extract any useful information –she still hadn't found the relic- and then to destroy the precious CCT and bring down one of the great pillars of global unity. The crumbling ruin of the tower would be quite fitting as Ozpin's headstone.

A rising sound drew her attention as metal clanged behind her. Air rushed in through the hole she'd left in Ozpin's lift. _Something_ was accelerating up to join her.

Another soul she had no reason to pity its suffering… because it clearly didn't recognize a losing battle.

The metal box reached the office and the doors were ripped open by the force of impact. Cinder looked on as four emerged from within, stepping into the office to face her.

Neo? So she didn't join Roman in dying in the Atlas flagship. And Blake Belladonna, the White Fang defector whose life Adam demanded spared for his own sinister ends. And with them the two students Cinder faced in the vault: Ozpin's Maiden candidate Pyrrha Nikos, and her useless lump of a partner Jaune Arc.

A psychopathic criminal who trusted no one else. A terrorist without the stomach to make the hard choices. A girl whose fame and reputation were built on lies and misdirection. And a boy whose only talent was an ability to elicit pity in all who witnessed his ineptitude. They were the only resistance left to safeguard the tower. They were the only things left between her and total victory.

Cinder smiled, whimsically raising her open palms. "Come to congratulate me?"

Neo moved in first, unsheathing the blade she'd hidden in her umbrella. Jaune Arc called after her to no avail, as Cinder composed a blade of her own from shards of glass, clashing her new weapon against Neo's compact sword. She really didn't have the strength to try and best Cinder with a frontal attack, even _before_ Cinder became complete.

"Oh, Neo, you disappoint me," Cinder mused. "I honored my word and gave you what I promised you. It seems poor Roman just didn't learn from all his previous failures… but then, failing me was _all_ he ever seemed to do."

Neo became enraged, striking more rapidly. Blake Belladonna moved in to join her to attack Cinder's unarmed flank, and Cinder raised her free hand to unleash a torrent of fire right at her. Blake left a shadow clone to take the heat as she retreated herself, but as Blake withdrew Cinder noted how Blake clutched her midsection; she was already wounded, and Cinder would have no trouble outlasting her.

She returned her attention to Neo, who was still frantically trying to stab at Cinder in incandescent fury. Cinder grew tired of humoring her, lazily raising her hand and drawing flames to fling at her treacherous former underling, when Jaune Arc leapt in the path of her attack, raising his heavy shield to absorb as much of the fire as he could and protect Neo's smaller form.

Pyrrha Nikos immediately moved after him, using her polarity to fling a shield right at Cinder's neck, landing a good hit on Cinder's Aura and forcing her head to snap back, pointing uselessly at the ceiling and the annoying ticking gears. Now presented an opening, Neo stabbed her repeatedly at the stomach and chest, poking holes in her Aura in multiple locations before her defensive barrier could properly reform in any one place.

Though knocked back by the push of Cinder's fire, Jaune Arc was quick to rise to his feet and rushed at Cinder shield first, striking her now unprotected midsection with his full force and weight. Cinder audibly winced as the hit drove her back and she skidded along the floor of Ozpin's office. Blake Belladonna followed up by repeatedly firing at her from a distance, while Neo launched herself off Jaune's shoulder to press her attack, cutting a small gash in Cinder's stomach and leaving an unsightly tear in her dress.

She'd indulged the foolishness long enough. Cinder spread out her arms and drew upon the Fall Maiden's Aura, pushing it out from her body to draw into either hand, superheating her flames and binding them into tight, concentrated spheres to fling at the two adversaries closest her. Jaune Arc moved in the path of Neo and hunkered down with his shield, easily protecting the small girl and blocking most of the attack with his heavy defense… but eventually he was knocked back. Neo retreated to the side and was once more out in the open, in the path of Cinder's next attack.

But then Pyrrha Nikos moved to rejoin the fray, slashing at Cinder with her short spear. Cinder encircled herself in burning hot Aura, blinding Nikos with the light and then pushing her back with another superheated torrent of Aura and flame. Once Nikos had been safely pushed back, Cinder refocused her efforts on Neo, pushing fire from her right hand in a steady stream and moving it all through the room chasing after her former subordinate.

Blake Belladonna continued to annoy her with short bursts of fire. Cinder broke off her pursuit of Neo and flung another sphere of flame at Blake. While Blake used up more of her Aura to let another of her shadow clones take the hit, Cinder dashed forward to meet Blake, clashing her glass sword against the blade of Blake's Gambol Shroud. Blake's movements were sluggish and labored –compensating for her wound- and Cinder quickly got the better of the Faunus, striking her at her stomach and making the girl wince in pain.

Neo returned and attacked Cinder from behind, stabbing repeatedly against her back. Jaune and Pyrrha attacked from either side of her with their shields, the former also taking the time to take another hit on his friend's behalf when he clashed his short sword with Cinder's own blade.

Cinder recognized this tactic: with Emerald and Mercury she'd used it to defeat the previous Fall Maiden, despite the considerable gap in their power. Though her fury had been enough to defeat even Ozpin in single combat, in this enclosed space three first year students and a criminal were giving her some genuine difficulty because of how many fronts they could attack from.

No longer.

Cinder called on the Maiden Aura again, drawing upon so much of it the raw power started to leak out of her eye. She threw up her hands and unleashed a burst of Aura as pure energy, sending her four adversaries flying in multiple directions and crashing in various spots in Ozpin's office. Cinder focused her attention again on Pyrrha Nikos, slashing at 'the invincible girl' before she'd even managed to return to her feet.

Pyrrha tried to fend her off, but she wasn't so able a fighter when a stronger foe could kick her while she was down. Jaune Arc moved to help his partner, but Cinder batted him away with contemptuous ease. She wasn't going to bother trying to fight them all anymore: she was going to kill them –quickly, systematically- one by one until every last enemy in her path was gone.

Jaune tried to move back to help Pyrrha before taking note of Blake, leaning to stand on Ozpin's desk. Her Aura was flickering badly; she'd already lost a good amount fighting Adam, the White Fang, and the Grimm and the wound in her stomach had opened back up, with a small bloody imprint forming on her white cloth. Neo was up again and looking for a window to attack, but after seeing Jaune knocked for a loop, she moved over to him to try and help him back to his feet.

Jaune thought back to the two previous instances where Cinder had unleashed that attack… pouring her Aura out in a massive burst. Both times she'd unleashed _all_ of it, which meant…

Jaune turned his attention to Neo. "Think you can hit her quickly?"

Neo seemed offended he even needed to ask. Jaune quickly clarified: "I mean faster than you have been. Can you accelerate somehow?"

"Bumblebee," Blake muttered.

Neo and Jaune both turned to look at her, confused. Neo had a sort of quizzical tilt in the way her head bobbed.

Blake collapsed Gambol Shroud and pulled out its whip extension, offering it to Neo. "It means I have an idea."

Jaune turned his attention back to Cinder as the woman in red hoisted Pyrrha up by her neck. "Well, guys, get ready to use it… because the moment she pushes me away, that's when you push her back."

Jaune dashed over to help his partner as Neo reluctantly accepted her end of Blake's cord. "Hold on," the Faunus advised, before starting to slowly spin around in place, using Ozpin's desk to help hold herself aloft, as Neo was pulled along, surprised when Blake lifted her off her feet and spun her around in the air.

"Pyrrha, the gears!" Jaune called, pointing to the massive clock organs above their heads. Pyrrha got the gist of his message and reached out, dislodging one massive spinning structure and dropping it down on Cinder, only for the woman in red to immediately launch her flames upwards, burning so hot she sliced the metal in two, letting either portion fall safely away from her. Pyrrha cried out as Cinder's hand continued to burn at her neck.

It wasn't exactly what Jaune had hoped for, and he knew she'd just invested effort trying to enact his plan, and it had cost her. If he didn't get there in time… if Pyrrha…

Jaune leapt through the air, shield first. He angled his descent as he slammed into Cinder's back, using all his weight to push her down to the floor. Cinder snarled as Jaune tugged her down, forcing her to relinquish her grip on Pyrrha, leaving the redhead to clutch the burns already marring her neck.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune said again. "Hold me down!"

Pyrrha removed one hand from her throat and concentrated on the metal in Jaune's breastplate, pushing him into the floor and pinning Cinder beneath him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Blake finally step away from Ozpin's desk and swing Neo with all her might, right on target. And as Jaune expected, Cinder was concentrating all her Aura again, preparing to fire straight upwards and remove the impediment pinning her at her back.

Jaune saw the fire rise and flung his shield towards Pyrrha's outstretched hand, where her magnetic pull would draw it before her, putting in some effort to deflect the blast Cinder was about to unleash.

"Jaune-" Pyrrha began, but her words were interrupted by Cinder blasting her Aura straight up, flinging Jaune into the ceiling as she bounced back to her feet, enraged by his interruption.

But before her Aura could replenish itself and reform her barrier, Neo tugged on her grip on Blake's whip to pull her along, using their combined momentum to attack in tandem. Blake bounced ahead along multiple shadow clones to increase her pace further, closing the distance and leveling her blade alongside Neo's own.

They weren't sure there'd be a heart for their blades to find, but they'd already damaged her midsection, so it seemed a good place to attack. Cinder tried to raise her barrier again, to draw upon the inexhaustible Maiden Aura…

Cinder took in a deep breath when the blades pierced her chest. She looked down at each piece of metal embedded in her skin and felt a copper taste hit the back of her mouth as blood rushed up to her lips and dribbled down her chin.

Cinder tried to raise her hand, leveling her palm at the two girls in her path. She drew fire into her hand, feeling it dance between her fingers as she prepared to push it out towards them…

Her fingers twitched and her hand tried to tighten, to grip at empty air. The fire slowly faded to small embers and wisps of smoke as her hand continued to point uselessly at the two girls driving their blades further into her.

Only a few minutes ago, she killed Ozpin. A few minutes before _that_ she killed the Fall Maiden, impaling her chest just like this…

She struggled for breath, and what breathing she did manage was fast and ragged, with her mouth still full of blood. The Aura encircling her right eye drew back within her to try and repair the damage done, but these were no minor wounds… she couldn't even feel her heart beating in her chest…

She tried to say something, to express her defiance, to mock her assailants for thinking they were strong enough to…

…to…

…kill her…

The light vanished from Cinder's eyes as her head slumped forward, resting against her chest. She dropped to her knees, still hanging limp on Neo and Blake's blades until the rest of her upper body succumbed to gravity and fell backwards, landing with a dull thud on the floor of Ozpin's office, blood slowly pooling around her.

Pyrrha rushed to where Jaune landed on the floor and searched frantically for a means to resuscitate him. He'd borne the blunt of Cinder's attack –if not the entirety- and was struck by her concentrated Aura beam with only his breastplate to shield him. Pyrrha rolled him over onto his back and searched him for wounds. He seemed undamaged, but he was lying very still, not even drawing breath.

Pyrrha wouldn't allow that now. Not when his plan worked, not when he got them all to cooperate… she began by compressing his chest again and again before attempting to exhale air into his mouth. She'd meant to fight Cinder alone to prevent him from coming to harm, and now that by all appearances they'd managed to defeat her…

He still lay on the ground. Pyrrha screamed unintelligibly at him in a hoarse, wounded voice before trying to compress his chest again, eventually switching from a measured placement of both hands to frantically bashing him with her fists, begging him to wake.

Her eyes were filling with tears as she tried to exhale again, to provide some form of ventilation, when she looked past Jaune at Cinder's body… and the light rising from it…

Neo and Blake had only just turned their attention from Cinder. Blake had a hand over her mouth in shock and Neo was looking even more distraught than Pyrrha was, tears welling in her multicolored eyes when…

The Aura had begun to reconstitute in its new host, but only recently. It had been maimed for a very long time, and had become accustomed to existing in multiple vessels. Cinder had not yet completed her ascendancy, still relying on the single element she'd been granted rather than use the depth of the Maiden's gifts.

And in her final moments, what thoughts had not been devoted to saving her own life had been for her two attackers, the women who killed her. And just as it had so many times before, the Aura moved to its new host.

But again it divided, pouring in portion into Neo, and another into Blake. Aura embedded itself within either, rushing through their system with such force it began leaking out, protruding from their mouths and emerging from their eyes like tiny circles of white flame.

And a final portion -briefly shared in a _third_ vessel before it was abruptly pulled back to Amber- left Cinder and returned to Pyrrha Nikos, and she was again overcome by blinding pain as unfamiliar Aura tried to mingle with her own. Even a third of the Maiden's power quickly overwhelmed her and leaked out, encircling her eyes with its power as well.

The three looked between each other and the fallen Cinder as the office was enveloped in all-consuming white…


	13. To Do Something More

**Chapter Thirteen: To Do Something More**

* * *

Something was very warm beside him… uncomfortably so, with blasts of heat at irregular intervals, as though he sat beside an unstable and roaring bonfire. He tried to roll away and move from it, but couldn't quite turn his body over. He tried reaching to the ground with either hand to push himself away but couldn't seem to lift his arm.

He grew increasingly concerned as the heat grew more intense and he tried to move away from it, but he wasn't even sure where to move _to_ , because the fire seemed to be all around him, even though he couldn't see its light or smell its burning. He kept trying to do _something_ but couldn't make his body move.

He faintly recalled Pyrrha screaming in his ear… he remembered feeling something strike his chest and then all about his torso, and then he realized he couldn't feel his heart beating and he grew even _more_ panicked, trying to make his body do _something_. He couldn't go now; his friends might still need him! He didn't see what happened after Cinder's violent reaction; he didn't even know if his plan worked.

Neo, Blake, Pyrrha… he needed to know if they were alive. If nothing else, he'd come back just long enough to make sure. He was the one who convinced them to join the fight; he owed it to them to see it through.

And he would. He wouldn't die for this evil woman. Not today.

Jaune took in a deep breath before coughing violently, spitting out a bit of inhaled smoke from Cinder's eruption. He rolled over onto his side and hacked at the ground, gradually regaining his bearings after several wheezing breaths. Jaune staggered up to his feet and glanced around Ozpin's office, first coming upon the fallen body of Cinder, flat on her back in a pool of blood. He then turned to look for the others and saw…

They were all standing still around him, Pyrrha slightly crouched closest to him, Neo and Blake each still standing beside one another a few feet further back. Their eyes were glowing bright white, with their Auras clearly visible upon their bodies, the energy radiating off them like a sheen.

Jaune slowly waved his hand in front of Pyrrha's face, searching for a reaction that her eyes didn't convey. He repeated the process with Blake and Neo, before glancing around between them… when his eyes noticed a familiar creature crawling up the side of the tower, its red wing visible outside Ozpin's window.

The massive Grimm dragon hoisted its head up, glancing around… before fixing one massive, bloody red eye inwards towards Jaune and the three girls.

"Guys…" Jaune whispered to all three, unable to raise his voice much higher. "Whatever happened, I really need you to get back here as soon as you can…"

* * *

Blake had never much cared for the cold, and streets were far worse to try and sleep through cold than grass and dirt and trees. Stone and metal were hard enough to sleep on when it _wasn't_ freezing out, and a few pieces of cloth and a tarp beside an overhang did nothing to help her sleep. She kept waking in the night, and she was too small to muster much warmth on her own. All she could do was squeeze tighter and make herself smaller still…

That wasn't right. Blake wasn't the tallest woman around, but she was never so short as this. And she had only slept on the streets for a single night of her life during the first semester, and it had never been so cold. Before that she slept in the wilds of Sanus or in the relative comfort of a heated tent with Adam.

She searched for a sign of him, or their brothers and sisters scattered about. Had they already made it to Vale?

No, they must've, because they were working with Roman. She didn't trust them, they were going to lead Roman down an unstable, unpredictable path and he entrusted her to guard the stash in case they tried anything. He was right to be wary; he couldn't trust those… not even Faunus; _politicians_. They weren't interested in anything logical and trying to change a world that couldn't _be_ changed.

What was she thinking? She believed the White Fang to be good, but it had lost its way under Adam specifically because they entertained working with criminal anarchists like Roman Torchwick…

Roman wasn't the problem, the White Fang was. They tried to rob her of the man she loved.

No, Adam Taurus was the man she loved… even if he was…

Blake stopped to feel her forehead. Before this moment she'd done nothing but _despise_ Roman Torchwick. Why did she suddenly feel as though he was her dearest friend; her only family?

Blake had family, both living parents and brothers and sisters in the White Fang, and now Team RWBY at Beacon…

But that wasn't right at all. She hated Team RWBY, because they kept frustrating Roman, denying him the chance to cash out and forcing him to go along with Cinder's plan.

Cinder. The woman behind all this had a name. A name Blake felt as though she'd known for months, yet had never once thought of before…

How could she not remember? She was disguised, watching the whole sequence of events as Cinder bullied Roman into complying, reminding him that powerful as he may have been he still had no choice but to comply with someone stronger still. Survival was only granted to those who served a use to her.

Was that why Adam fought alongside her too?

What did it matter? Adam was already dead. She killed him.

 _She_ killed him?

Put her blade right through his heart. Left him for the Grimm.

How could she? Whatever he was now, whatever he'd degenerated into, she still…

This was wrong, this was all wrong…

* * *

Pyrrha had been waiting for the moment when he'd kiss her. She wanted him to. She'd waited so many nights wondering if he'd finally do so; if he'd see the look in her eyes and finally realize how deeply she'd fallen in love with him. When he pulled off his mask and showed her the face he showed no one else, when he looked into her eyes and whispered her name and drew closer…

She thought she'd known happiness before this, in the safety of her parents' home, listening to her mother dote on her and looking at her father swell with pride at even her smallest accomplishment. Since leaving them life had been harder, the nights colder and darker, but she'd sustained herself on her love for him and her belief in the righteousness of their cause. When he returned her love at last, she didn't need to live in a big fancy house or sleep in a warm bed; she just needed _him_ to hold her and kiss her. She just needed moments like these to be happy.

She wasn't sure what to do, so she copied his motions. As he dug in deeper she reached a hand up to his shoulder and pressed against him. Pyrrha was so surprised by her sudden aggression that she actually broke the lock and withdrew, nervously averting her gaze, cursing herself for having overreached and doing things wrong…

Adam didn't seem to mind. He kissed her again with the same fervent energy she'd had a moment earlier, and Pyrrha was only too happy to let him take the reins, to show her all the different techniques. He was the only man she'd ever loved, the only man who'd ever see this side of her…

Except… he _wasn't_ the only man Pyrrha had ever loved. Pyrrha had never even met him. Why did she care so much about him?

He mentored her, he protected her, he inspired her… he was everything she needed in this unfamiliar continent, and a constant reminder that she wasn't alone and someone liked her as she was, including the parts of her that only came out with him. That all sounded familiar to her.

But then he just got worse, and Pyrrha wondered if she was in some way enabling him, because she kept believing the excuses he made, even when his violence started turning inward, and he raised his hands to her.

She had to leave him. He wasn't the man she fell in love with anymore.

But how could she leave him? How could she possibly let him go? How did she know she'd ever feel this way again about anyone else? If she lost him, if she was alone again…

He kept hurting her. She didn't want to leave him, she just didn't want it to hurt.

How could he hurt her? He might've been thoughtless, but he never once tried to strike her. Why did she think she had?

Why did she think his name was Adam Taurus?

* * *

Neo was getting tired of fighting this girl. She wasn't in the mood to sustain a competitive fight, and her mind was already being pulled apart by the pain she was feeling now; the guilt of doing harm to Jaune and the weight of Ozpin's revelations to her.

Not only did she feel as though she could no longer trust her teachers, but Neo also felt she'd betrayed Jaune's trust and done him harm, becoming far worse than she ever meant to in her efforts to protect him, letting her emotions get in the way of keeping to her task.

For so long she'd hidden her power, afraid of revealing the shameful truth about how she ascended to become a regional champion. Now she felt the need to use it, if only to end this battle.

Neo didn't understand that. Why _hide_ her power when the enemy was going to die? She understood concealing the depth of her talents from a more powerful enemy, but against one she _could_ defeat and remove from her sight wasn't one who'd pass the information on after the fact.

It felt good to let it out. It felt good to unleash that power after spending so much time letting it stagnate below the surface.

Her enemy was cut into pieces. She was horrified.

… _why_? Her enemy died. That was how fights were _supposed_ to end.

But she was a person! A combatant, an _opponent_ but _**not**_ an enemy. Because she let her power loose for a moment she actually hurt someone, just as she had with Jaune.

These feelings didn't help her in any way. She shouldn't dwell on them. She shouldn't let this slow her down.

But she _had_ to slow down. She was hurting people –friends- by letting her power loose, trying to feel better about her own failures, trying to not feel the guilt of hurting Jaune, of misleading him, of trying to get him away from Neo…

Why… why would Neo try and get Jaune away from _herself_?

Neo took a moment to take in his setting, of the girl she'd killed, cutting her apart with her own swords, using a Semblance she'd never known… she'd never seen from this perspective; she'd never been so tall.

And she hadn't stopped to talk to Jaune after the breach, but she remembered him holding up his Scroll to show her the text chain, including an address… and she later found that same information when she looked at his Scroll while he was distracted.

This wasn't Neo. Neo hadn't betrayed herself.

But _someone_ had.

* * *

Neo wasn't sure exactly when she moved out from the strange, unfamiliar memory, instead finding herself in a featureless white space empty but for the other two, her allies of convenience in the battle against Cinder.

Neo's first instinct was that the two had served their purpose and she no longer needed them, and while she didn't necessarily _need_ to kill them, but that was her preferred strategy.

Yet Blake wouldn't kill _her_ despite all she'd done to Yang, and much as Pyrrha disliked Neo, she knew Jaune still felt something for the shorter girl and wouldn't want her to come to harm, no matter how much wrong Neo had done…

But… how had _Neo_ known what the other two were thinking?

Because they weren't _the other two_ , they were _her_ and she _them_. And that was not a thought she'd ever had before, because she'd never even considered the possibility of sharing anyone else's thoughts. She usually had a pretty good grasp on what Roman was thinking, and that was a comforting feeling… but these two girls she barely knew and had already fought against? That was _invasive_ , both having their thoughts in her head and thinking they had access to hers'.

And though Blake and Pyrrha were the only other ones Neo could _see_ , she could _hear_ so many other voices… one she didn't recognize begging for her life, another she recognized as Cinder's speaking of a terrible, burning hunger rising within her… and many others that ran together like a stream of gibberish, some of which seemed to be speaking in tongues Neo had never known.

Neo tried to focus her attention on Cinder. She was dead; Neo watched her die. _Blake_ recalled it. And Cinder's final memory was looking up at the two of them running her through, without even time to curse the errors she'd made in trying to fight all of them. For great as Cinder's power had become, she was not invincible… and nor had been the Fall Maiden before her, whom Cinder meant to kill with just as little flourish.

Neo then focused her thoughts on Pyrrha and Blake, both holding at either side of their heads as they tried to process all that they'd experienced; of too many thoughts not their own. Each of them was quite used to holding their tongue, but neither had ever been forced to convey their thoughts the way Neo had. They weren't quite as apt at this.

The memory of the fight hadn't come from Cinder or the Maiden before her. Which of these two felt so guilty about telling Jaune the truth about Neo? Which of these two led to her-

She saw it clearly in the dorm, playing out again and again. Each time the memory grew darker, but never once did the image fade; the screen of Jaune's Scroll shining brightly before her eyes. Of _course_ it was her. No one else lived with him like she did, and whatever he felt for Blake and Neo, he hadn't come to trust them the way he did her…

Neo focused her attention on Pyrrha Nikos, the woman who drove Jaune away from her; who robbed her of an all-too-brief happiness to satisfy her curiosity and petty jealousy.

She still felt so guilty about betraying his trust, and it ate at her. It haunted her thoughts to have hurt the man she loved, and worse, to have not reached his heart before someone else did.

Neo would be only too happy to absolve Pyrrha of her guilt… permanently.

* * *

The massive Grimm dragon had been staring at Jaune for a long time. He was terrified of the great beast, but it had yet to do much more than look at him with its enormous red eye; intimidating, but not an immediate threat.

But then the Grimm dragon's eye moved about the room to the other three, and narrowed as it crossed over each, squinting to see them through the light of their Aura. Before the Grimm seemed largely indifferent; now it looked _displeased_ , possibly even angry.

Jaune had trouble taking his eyes off the giant dragon right outside the window, but forced himself to look at Pyrrha, Blake, and Neo: the first girl who ever believed in him, the first girl he ever kissed, and the first girl he ever made love to. Each of them radiated with the same white Aura, and he wasn't sure where to begin, or how to snap them out of the strange trance they'd been in.

He racked his brain to think of how he could help, how he could help them come to before the Grimm outside got proactive… it was so hard to think after being blasted by Cinder and a long night of nearly constant battle, but Jaune still fought to find a means to reach them, going through whatever memory they might've shared, whatever words might've made the difference, whatever he could do that would bring them back to the world.

Or perhaps… bring them back to _him_.

Jaune stepped to Pyrrha and took hold of her hand. He thought of that moment in the Emerald Forest, when she placed a hand on his shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.

" _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality,_ " Jaune began, recalling the words with clarity. " _Through this we become a paragon of virtue to rise above all…_ "

* * *

Neo felt she'd been making progress moving through the white void on her way to Pyrrha, only for the setting to abruptly change, replaced by a dense forest with a lush green grass floor. Jaune and Pyrrha stood across from each other, with Pyrrha placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder and quietly speaking to him as Aura moved from her body to his.

"…infinite in distance and unbound by death," Pyrrha chanted, moving closer, very nearly embracing Jaune, "I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Neo remembered this moment, when she was taken in by his naïve, trusting nature. He'd already endeared himself to her before they entered the Emerald Forest together, but alone with him for a few moments she was less formal and structured, and able to be herself and not the face she projected to the rest of the world.

Blake understood the feeling of that first spark. She'd been there too, binding herself with another person… not as directly, not as explicitly, but still giving of herself through small touches of affection and gestures of trust. Neither had come naturally to her, even among those whose cause she wholeheartedly believed in.

Neo dismissed these thoughts. Pyrrha stole information from Jaune that led her and her friends –including Blake- to ambush Neo. She –they- drove him away from her, maybe even stole him for themselves.

Blake recalled the moment, surprised by how determined Pyrrha was… how far she was willing to go. She understood the reasoning, and shared Pyrrha's desire to protect Jaune, though she was grateful it hadn't fallen to her to break Jaune's trust.

It didn't matter how they rationalized it. They may have succeeded in driving Neo away from Jaune, but the look of pain and betrayal in his eyes… no, worse than that for Pyrrha was his willingness to forgive her, to reaffirm his trust in her once she'd been proven right; to feel _rewarded_ for betraying him because she just couldn't admit the truth.

Not after he honored his promise and wore a dress before taking her hand on the dance floor. Not after he reached out to help her when Ozpin's revelations had left her feeling so lost. Not when day after day he was her dearest friend, showing her kindness at every moment and giving of himself without expectation…

How knowing she was about to die, she shed all doubt and kissed him. Even if she was the last to do so, even if it was the only time she'd get a chance, she wanted him to know the truth she'd held back and finally show him how strong –how _real_ \- her love was.

Pyrrha felt a hand gripping her own. She squeezed it tightly, taking in its warmth and its strength…

 _"Pyrrha_ ," they all heard Jaune speak, " _I need you to come back. I need you_ _ **all**_ _to come back."_

Pyrrha was immensely relieved to hear his voice; she'd thought the worst when she hadn't been able to resuscitate him... but now that he'd spoken, it seemed there was some greater problem than these bizarre incongruous memories to attend to.

Wherever they were, Jaune was trying to reach them. Blake was relieved to hear him, but perhaps a bit put off that he'd addressed Pyrrha first. Neo, of course…

Pyrrha betrayed Jaune and tore away Neo's chance at happiness. Neo wasn't about to forget that –or forgive that- just because Pyrrha was trying to protect him. She didn't understand, she didn't make an effort to accept the relationship Jaune and Neo forged… all she did was try to cast it away.

It was a courtesy Neo meant to repay.

* * *

Feeling Pyrrha grip his hand, Jaune knew he was reaching her. He was reluctant to let go and undo whatever progress he'd made, but he still had to reach the others, and so turned his attention to Blake. Casting one eye out the window to see the Grimm dragon detach itself from Beacon tower and start flying around in a slow circle, Jaune racked his brain to think of how to get to Blake.

He thought of earlier today, when she helped him back to his dorm and they spoke about feelings, about pain and loss… then he thought of the night after Neo ran, and how she explained to him necessity and sacrifice and the time needed to move on, and then finally to the night before the dance under a black moon, when she kissed him for the first time.

Jaune remembered kissing her twice… but there was another act shared in every instance, one specific to Blake that he hadn't shared with the other two.

Jaune lowered himself a bit, hunching forward and finding his groove before placing his forehead to Blake's, holding himself there and quietly whispering: "I know that there's a lot I've gotten wrong… but you were right when you said I should still try."

He looked past her to the Grimm dragon circling back towards the tower, but he hadn't reached her yet. Jaune pressed a little firmer and closed his eyes, hoping something would reach her…

* * *

As Neo drew nearer the scene changed again, to Blake and Jaune standing in the courtyard of Beacon before a statue. Blake reached a hand up to Jaune's shoulder to acknowledge the efforts he went to in not chasing Weiss when he thought she'd set her eyes on someone else.

Weiss… how pitiable it was to see Jaune so in love with her. And how endearing it had been to see him abandon the chase when he knew her heart was elsewhere. How it reminded her of the kindness that drew her to him in the first place.

Blake thought of him, soaking wet at the docks after trying to swim to her. Pyrrha remembered how worried she was to see him like that, and how Neo was stunned to watch him dive into the freezing water.

They thought of how Jaune could dance, how he honored his promise to Pyrrha… how Blake wished she'd known the feeling, watching from afar. Neo's memories filled in the gaps, of someone used to being elegant and precise thrown for a loop when out of her element, yet only to be encouraged at her partner's grace and willing to defer to him and let him lead her.

Blake thought of their talks, of the pain emerging from his soul, of a pain born of a deep love he knew had failed. Blake knew that feeling all too well, and talking with him may have dredged up painful memories of a time she'd willingly abandoned, even tried to forget… but served to remind her she was not alone and that their common bond made them closer: if not in love then at least strengthened in their friendship.

Blake thought of the moment in the dorm, of Jaune running from her after he finally kissed her, after he admitted his feelings in the most direct and honest way. She might've done the same… she might've run too from something that frightened her, that might hurt her. Had tonight gone differently Blake might've run from Adam and his wrath… might've run away all over again and not faced her past or acknowledged all that she'd done if not for Jaune.

She felt his warmth pressing to her now. Before Blake had instigated every motion, an instinct from her particular Faunus nature and shared with her parents, now replicated by Jaune to help her mind focus to a single point. He was trying to get them out from this strange place they found themselves in, and they just had to follow his lead once more.

He was trying to call her back. The least she could do was try and answer.

How Neo wished she could answer him. How she wished she could just speak aloud and put his mind at ease as Blake had, using a gift of words to ease the pain in both of their hearts.

Well the pain would end soon, because she was near to its source now, ready to do away with it and finally be alone with him as she wished… to have just herself and her lover and nothing else to complicate things.

* * *

Jaune felt Blake respond to him, nuzzling to his forehead to take him in and savor his presence. He wanted to linger but knew he couldn't, as the great Grimm dragon was flying right towards them, slowly gaining speed and power like a storm about to make landfall.

Jaune turned finally to Neo. And then… he hesitated.

She'd cooperated as he requested, but with Cinder dead, she no longer had a need of them. And Neo _had_ denied it when Jaune asked whether her feelings had been real… whether she truly cared for him or simply manipulated him to draw closer to her enemy. Jaune believed her on that night, and believed her now when she'd been driven by a need for revenge on someone who wronged her.

But he also believed there was more to Neo than just that darkness and savage impulse. When he thought of seeing her in his hoodie, and how she relented when he asked to keep a picture of her… how she smiled at him the morning after their first night together…

Maybe she didn't feel for him what he felt for her, but Jaune knew there was… _something_ in there that wasn't just violent and selfish. There was something in her that could love and wished to _be_ loved. And even if she'd never be the girl he thought she was, at least she could be a bit better than everyone else believed her to be.

Jaune tried to look in her eyes, but it was harder than ever before. More than looking at two different colors, Jaune now looked at burning white Aura, squinting to look upon its intense flare. Still Jaune maintained eye contact, bearing the pain, trying to remind her that he saw her, that he wasn't afraid of her, that he accepted her as she was…

* * *

Pyrrha was so close to her now, and Neo wasn't sure exactly _how_ to harm her in this place, but she certainly _meant_ to all the same. Pyrrha remained largely motionless, only squeezing her hand as though to grip another. Neo was drawing ever nearer, taking footsteps on an invisible floor in the white void, reaching towards the taller girl who'd vexed her, who'd convinced Jaune to turn on her…

And then she froze in place when she saw Jaune's eyes peering deep into her own, encompassing her vision with twin pools of pure blue. She remembered waking to the sight of those eyes, and how comforting it was for them to be the first thing she saw in the new day.

The moment replayed for her of the night of the breach. Pyrrha audibly gasped before Neo as she replayed the same memory, every bit as vivid for the redhead as it was for Neo, as she thought of those eyes meeting her own, breaking gaze only in a few moments when they were overtaken by different impulses and consumed by other senses. Pyrrha Nikos had never known it. Now she remembered the night as though she'd been there.

And then the morning that followed, of the picture he took, the picture Pyrrha wanted him to take… only for Jaune to send it to Neo herself instead, asking to keep some small token, some way to further enshrine and treasure his memory…

Neo had begun to type a message on her Scroll, to tell him something she'd never once said…

Neo focused her attention back to Pyrrha, the woman who robbed Neo of that brief, fleeting happiness. She betrayed Jaune's trust, but doing so drove Neo away, just as Pyrrha secretly wanted… and just as Blake was willing to partake in.

They didn't have him so they pushed away the girl who did. They cost her the man she loved, they deserved whatever Neo could return to them…

"I'm sorry."

The words rose from her mouth. But Neo hadn't said them. Neo _couldn't_ speak.

But she heard it, a voice emerging from herself… a voice all her own, with words not her own.

"We've all done terrible things," Neo heard someone say with her mouth. "To ourselves, to each other. We've all made mistakes, and we all feel guilt."

That wasn't true. Neo didn't feel-

"When you ran from him," the voice immediately corrected for her.

"When you misunderstood him," Blake's voice added.

"When you betrayed his trust," Pyrrha spoke.

Neo focused on Pyrrha. Blake could wait; Neo wanted this one first. She wanted the source who undid it all.

"I'm sorry that I didn't try to understand you," Pyrrha said to her, moving words from Neo's lips. "I'm sorry that I didn't believe your love was real."

"But I feel it now," Blake added.

"And it's so real, so strong," Pyrrha added. "You love him like I do, and I never thought that was true."

She was pleading for her life. She knew Neo's intent; she was in Neo's head and trying to avoid the fate she knew she deserved.

"You feel guilt: you must have a conscience," Blake reminded Neo. "You must believe in right and wrong if you ever feel bad about anything you've done."

There was only one regret, and they led her to it. They deserved to be punished.

"Jaune told me that everyone could be his friend," Pyrrha continued, Neo's cold embrace drawing nearer. "I believed him then and I believe it now. So I'll choose to believe in you. I'll choose to believe what he saw in you is real…"

If she killed them, Neo would have this power –whatever this power was- all to herself. She'd have _Jaune_ all to herself with no one else to choose to share his love with. The other two were tempted by the same, just not willing to take it.

Cinder's memories told her to take what she wanted. Her own memories of Roman's lessons told her to never believe anything anyone ever told her.

But these statements… this gesture of faith and cooperation…

It wasn't just Pyrrha Nikos saying it. It wasn't just Blake Belladonna reaffirming it. It was Neo knowing every word spoken was truth.

They were part of each other now, each bound in a chaotic maelstrom of many thoughts, but able to focus on one shared truth: what they felt for Jaune, how he'd touched each of their lives…

Neo looked to Jaune's eyes again. She remembered him reaching a hand down to help her up, and then going to help Blake, all in the same eventful night…

Neo looked at Pyrrha a final time as she decided her course. She _could_ be the only one, the inheritor of this gift of Aura… but…

Jaune danced with Pyrrha. Jaune kissed Blake in the dorm. Jaune followed Neo into her bedroom. Each moment was a memory for each of them, each in place of the other, each reliving the moment as their own. From each of their perspectives they saw him and deciphered what he felt. They all shared a singular thought in each moment now shared between them.

They all loved him.

Neo wasn't sure she could simply forgive what Pyrrha and Blake had done, but she knew that to simply kill them was to harm Jaune, and now she had two other voices alongside her own who would not allow her to do so.

Neo lowered her hands and put a stop to her efforts. Instead she reached a hand out to take Pyrrha's own, to squeeze the hand searching for another to hold. Neo pressed her forehead to Blake's, an affection she'd shown before to Jaune at his shoulder and his back.

They had very few common thoughts, but in one they found resonance. In one they found _focus_.

" _It's coming, guys. I need you."_

* * *

Jaune finally stopped looking at Neo, turning his attention to the oncoming Grimm dragon. He assumed the stance Pyrrha had taught him and stood before the three girls, shield up and waiting, hoping he could stop the storm about to hit with whatever small defense he could muster. It didn't matter that he knew he couldn't stop the assault; he'd stand before it just the same.

Until he saw light fill the room again, and Jaune glanced briefly over his shoulder as Neo and Blake stepped to either side of him. Pyrrha raised her hands and levitated off the ground, rising with the severed pieces of clock gear Cinder destroyed before, ripping out another and another from the ceiling above them.

Jaune could only look on as Neo and Blake moved past him to the window, drawing their blades. Behind him, Pyrrha continued to rend and warp the metal of the gears, more of the burning white Aura rising from her body.

Jaune wasn't sure what they meant to do, but he stood in position before Pyrrha, waiting to catch the monstrous Grimm about to fling all its weight upon them. The ancient Grimm dragon gave a screeching roar as it drew closer and closer…

Pyrrha struck first, flinging two of the clock gears straight through Ozpin's glass windows. Cold air rushed in and buffeted all four before each hunk of metal struck the great beast. Pyrrha waved her hands and bent each gear around the great dragon's wings, pinning them to either side of its body and denying it lift. The dragon tried to maneuver itself but its own momentum pushed it further ahead, albeit gradually slowing down as its massive head moved right into the path of Neo and Blake.

The beast's head smashed into the side of the tower, ripping off great chunks of stone from the roof and floor upon impact to accommodate its massive bone and hide. Neo and Blake moved to either side of the dragon's jaw, using their blades to pry its mouth open. The enormous Grimm was already being dragged down by the metal bindings strapped to its wings, its head already sliding backwards…

Pyrrha joined the three before the monster and they pressed their free hands together, concentrating Aura before drawing the two halves of the clock gear Cinder had split to Pyrrha's hand, dividing the metal further and further into dozens of shards, all superheated in the white Aura gathered between them.

The trio poured that burning light down the Grimm dragon's black throat and let it fall down the side of Beacon tower. Pyrrha walked to the edge of the window, blasted by cold winds as she rained superheated shrapnel down onto the dragon's legs and stomach as it tumbled down towards the ground far below.

Jaune moved to stand beside the three and watch as the beast struck the courtyard below with a terrible crash… and light erupted from its throat and midsection, ripping through its black flesh and shooting straight up from its body. The Grimm dragon tried to screech, but the noise was muted by the eruption of fiery white Aura, and the dragon slowly began to dissipate on the ground far below… and the other Grimm on the ground -even the youngest among them- stopped their rampages to watch the old one wither and die.

The light of Aura surrounding the three girls slowly began to rescind, their bodies returning to normal. One by one they turned their attention to Jaune, and he exchanged looks with each of them.

"You… you did it," was about all Jaune could manage to say.

Neo immediately moved to hug him. Blake pressed her forehead to his nearest shoulder. Pyrrha reached over to find an available hand. He did what he could to fit them all in as they encircled him, glancing around the group. "Is everybody okay?"

"No," Blake admitted. "But we're better now."

Jaune tried to offer some reassurance to her before taking note of the defeated Grimm, and the tower remaining intact. Pyrrha recognized the thoughts running through his mind, and through her, Blake and Neo learned the same.

"The tower's still standing," Jaune realized. He looked back at Cinder lying on the floor, and then to Ozpin's desk, before frantically pulling out his phone. Though he didn't have Glynda's cell number like he'd once believed, he figured he might know someone who could put him in touch…

* * *

"We have to go! Now!" Port instructed for what seemed the hundredth time today, as the Grimm moved closer, overrunning the landing pads. The sole remaining transport was not loaded with wounded, but the Beacon first years _meant_ to evacuate in it seemed determined to make themselves such.

"We're not leaving!" Ruby protested again. "Blake said she'd be back with Jaune and Pyrrha! We're not going anywhere without them!"

"Yeah, you guys take off!" Yang agreed, punching a Beowolf out of the air. "We'll find our own way out if we need to!"

"Miss Xiao Long, did you never learn what the word _mandatory_ means?" Oobleck demanded as he reentered the fray. "If so, I've failed in my duties as your instructor far worse than I'd realized."

Sun and Ren were working either side of an Ursa and Nora was attacking at range, lobbing grenades at concentrated packs of Beowolves and Creeps. The latter two were still working through their injuries and exhaustion, and all three were running low on ammo. Weiss was taking a moment to recuperate away from the fray –she'd been fighting longer than all of them and had long since exhausted her Dust supply- but wasn't finding much chance to rest with a horde of Grimm overwhelming her friends.

Then a heavy crash drew everyone's attention- even the Grimm. Port finished firing a shot from his blunderbuss and turned his attention to Beacon tower, his eyebrows disappearing into his gray crop of hair as he muttered: "Barty… the old one…"

Oobleck too looked on astonished as the Grimm dragon slammed into the ground and a massive burst of white light shot up from its body. The great dragon began to fade away in long, heavy wisps of black smoke, and many of the Grimm gathered to battle looked on as something ancient and powerful passed from its twisted life and returned to nothing.

Older specimens broke ranks quickly, fleeing from the battle, some even jumping over the Cliffside to the waters below Beacon. The young ones were slower to flee, but the fiery Aura now illuminating the night struck fear into them, and the Grimm scattered, leaving only their very youngest to lash out. With what few remained, even the first years had no trouble besting them.

"I don't believe it," Port managed to say. "Someone was strong enough to kill the old one…"

"The headmaster?" Oobleck speculated.

Ruby and her friends looked up at Beacon tower. When Weiss moved closer to join them, her Scroll beeped at her. As there seemed to be no more immediate threat from the Grimm, Weiss took it out, answering a message from… "Jaune?"

"Weiss!" Jaune replied on speaker, sounding grateful. "Do you have Glynda's number? Ozpin asked us to call her –or that guy Qrow or General Ironwood- to come here. We held Beacon tower!"

"You what?" Weiss asked, stunned. "Jaune… you… Pyrrha… _you_ did that?"

"Wait a moment please, they still have control of the tower?" Port inquired, turning his attention to Oobleck. "If the CCT is still active…"

"We can broadcast from Professor Ozpin's office and let the other kingdoms know we held out," Oobleck completed the thought for him.

Weiss was far more interested in more personal matters. "Is Blake with you?"

"She is," Jaune confirmed, much to the relief of Ruby, Yang, and Sun. "And… uh… well…"

"What?" Weiss wondered.

"Well, Blake wasn't the _only_ one who helped us," Jaune began to explain. "We… uh… we ran into-"

"Who?" Ruby asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, you guys remember Neo, right?"

A long silence followed his inquiry. A long silence broken by a particularly red-eyed Yang grinding her teeth.

"I think they remember you," they faintly heard him say.

"May I borrow that a moment, Miss Schnee?" Oobleck asked. Weiss complied -perhaps to get the Scroll to someone Yang was less likely to try and snatch it from- and the history professor explained: "Mister Arc, if you can all hold your position for a while, Professor Port and I will clear out the remaining Grimm and work our way to you."

"Yeah, that's fine," Jaune agreed. "Any chance you can find Glynda, though? There's… uh, something she's gonna want to see here."

"She's holding the safe zone in Vale," Oobleck explained. "Why do you need her?"

His response was indistinct murmuring, then Jaune replied: "Pyrrha said something about a fairy tale?"

Oobleck raised an eyebrow. "I… I'm not sure why that'll matter to Professor Goodwitch, but I'll pass the message along. Wait for us a while longer, Mister Arc, we'll get to you." He attempted to return Weiss's Scroll to her, but she rapidly waved him off, and irritated Yang still glaring in the general direction of Jaune's call. When she did receive the device back from Doctor Oobleck, Weiss quickly ended the transmission before Yang could interject with her opinion.

"I don't get it," Sun noted, stroking his chin. "Which one's Neo?"

Weiss raised a palm to her face as Ruby immediately moved to calm Yang before her big sister went on a rampage. Nora patted Sun's shoulder and just shook her head.

* * *

"So… what was it like?" Jaune asked, sitting in a circle with the three girls behind Ozpin's desk, using the wooden frame to block as much of the cold air as they could. "What happened when the Aura reached you?"

"It connected all of us together," Pyrrha explained. "We shared our memories and our thoughts. We spent so long trying to piece together which thoughts were our own, and nearly fought to gain control."

Jaune glanced at Neo, who averted her gaze. Blake interjected: "Eventually we found a reason to work together and we focused on that. You called to us and we set to the task."

"And are you… I don't know, still in each others' heads? Or whatever?" Jaune wondered.

"I don't know for sure," Pyrrha admitted. "I don't _think_ so, but in those few moments we were, we shared so much, we experienced so much…"

"We learned a lot about each other," Blake completed for Pyrrha before turning her attention to Neo. "Including some surprising things."

Neo pouted. Jaune raised an eyebrow, but again she didn't look at him.

"Do you want us to tell him?" Pyrrha asked in a soft and gentle tone. "Or do you want to say it yourself?"

Neo glared at Pyrrha for a moment before turning her attention to Jaune. She reached for her Scroll and held it up, thinking on what she should say. After a moment's pause, she composed a simple message:

 _It was real._

Jaune spent a very long time staring at the screen, then up to Neo again. "Oh… Neo… I… I'm so sor-"

Pyrrha intervened then, placing a hand over Jaune's mouth. "You're right to make amends, but you aren't the one who needs to apologize."

Jaune turned his attention to Pyrrha, who focused her gaze on Neo. The memory was already fresh for her, but for Jaune… Pyrrha had allowed him to believe she'd acted with his best interests at heart and she'd never corrected him.

"It may seem like a small matter now, but it's important to me –and important to Neo- that you know the truth of what happened," Pyrrha explained, finally looking him in the eye. "There are no more secrets between the three of us…" she pointed to Blake and Neo, "…and I'm not going to let there be anything kept from you either. I'm never going to lie again."

Pyrrha took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and recounted the moment, letting her shame return clearly so she could explain it without trying to excuse it.

"The day after the breach when you came back to Beacon, I borrowed your Scroll for a moment…"

* * *

Hours passed before the transport ship reached them in the tower. The three girls did their best to explain what they'd experienced, though Blake ended up doing most of the talking. Neo wanted to discuss matters further privately... if that were even still an option. Pyrrha's apology was met with acceptance, but Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged no more words after it.

When the others arrived via ship or scaling the stairs, Oobleck and Port set to work at the headmaster's desk and set up a transmission with their Scrolls while Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Sun all made to find Blake and exchange embraces. Nora managed to reserve her most furious tackle hug for Pyrrha, as Jaune remained at Neo's side during the reunion, knowing things would be… tense.

Neo continued to glare at Ruby Rose and the girl in the red hood returned her icy stature. Yang remained fixated on Neo all throughout, until Blake walked over to her partner, putting a soothing hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Yang…"

"I'll be nice," Yang managed. "At least until the cameras stop rolling."

Pyrrha turned her attention to the makeshift setup Port and Oobleck had created before glancing between Blake, Neo, and Jaune.

They knew what she meant to do. They decided to let her keep her promise.

Port set the scene as soon as the feed was live. "Ladies and gentlemen of Remnant, I apologize for the extended interruption. The Vytal Festival tournament has been unfortunately suspended, but I'm pleased to report the majority of participants and attendees have been successfully evacuated to Vale and are now under the protection of the combined efforts of General Ironwood of Atlas and Glynda Goodwitch, deputy headmistress of Beacon." Oobleck panned his Scroll behind Port, towards the still smoking ruins of Beacon coming into focus in the dim morning light. "Though Beacon suffered heavy damage following an offensive by the Grimm and the White Fang, the efforts of our students, our huntsmen-in-training from all four corners of Remnant have succeeded in holding the line."

Port's bombast suited the task, adding levity to the broadcast. Oobleck panned the camera over to Jaune, Pyrrha, Neo, and Blake in the foreground, their gathered friends and teammates standing behind.

Pyrrha knew her presence would cause some concern. She knew her proclamation would be even more dangerous to make.

But she didn't share Professor Ozpin's belief that this was something to be kept secret. She didn't believe that the truth deserved to be kept in a vault underground.

"Joining us now is Pyrrha Nikos, former Mistral regional champion and competitor in the Vytal Festival, subject to an unjust deception by the instigators of this heinous attack; she's here to shed some light on these events," Port explained. "Miss Nikos?"

Jaune squeezed her right hand. Before Pyrrha stepped forward, Neo squeezed her left. Pyrrha met the eye of the shorter girl, who gestured for Pyrrha to move forward.

When Pyrrha stepped to join Port at the center of the frame, she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them again, white Aura emerged alongside her green irises. Port visibly moved away from her, stepping completely out of the frame in his startled response.

"I'm sure you've heard a great many fairy tales," Pyrrha began, speaking cautiously at first, but gradually she found her groove. "We've gone through so much hardship –all of us in every kingdom- that we sometimes forget the lessons they impart. I'm here to tell you that some of them are real. Sometimes when the darkness seems overwhelming, enough light remains to push it back. Sometimes a hero really will come to save you.

"I'm not a hero, but with my friends… with the people I love," Pyrrha continued, "I was able to do something brave. I was able to make a difference and together we defeated what seemed impossible to stop. Before I believed there was only one possible destiny lying ahead… until others made me believe that it was possible to do something more; to do something _better_."

Pyrrha took another deep breath. The dawn finally reached them in the tower, sunlight filtering in to contrast the glowing white in Pyrrha's eyes.

"I am here to tell you that hope is real, that change is possible," Pyrrha went on. "And I'm here to tell you…the Maidens are real. And that if I can, I will protect you. Wherever I am able, I will fight for you. That is why I came to Beacon in the first place, and that is what I firmly believe I am _meant_ to do."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them again, the camera recorded only green.

"I know you're afraid," Pyrrha gently added, "but you don't have to be. You don't have to shroud yourself in doubt and guilt and mistrust... you can aspire to more than that. You can believe in something better, because better _is_ possible, for all of us."

She turned to look at Jaune, Blake and Neo, Oobleck following her gaze with his Scroll, bringing them into the frame. Jaune smiled encouragingly at her, and Pyrrha spoke a final time.

"Beacon stands today because of all of us working together," Pyrrha concluded. "Whatever powers stories would have you believe a Maiden has, the greatest strength of all is found in trust, and unity, and teamwork. That is what conquered the dark today. That is what'll do it again tomorrow."

* * *

And half a world away, sitting in a dark keep, a millennia old witch observed her plans fail and hope endure...

And she smiled.


	14. The Right Reasons

**Chapter Fourteen: The Right Reasons**

* * *

Salem waved her hand, and Watts received the message, replaying the footage again. He'd already sat through it several times, but always did he allow the queen her indulgence.

"Pause it there," Salem requested. Watts complied, freezing the image of the three girls and the boy with the relic of a sword and shield. For a long time Salem just looked upon the projection from his Scroll, though she was sure by now this exercise was trying his patience.

"Am I missing something obvious?" Watts inquired, in as humble a tone as he could manage.

How typical of the good doctor; disguising his own need for information as though he were offering his services to Salem. He knew Salem had spotted some important detail and wanted to understand what caught her interest, and how to predict what plans lay ahead.

"Do you not see it, Arthur?" Salem mused.

"I see a total failure of your dear Cinder's mission," Watts replied. "The tower intact, a new Fall Maiden not in Your Grace's service, and the Grimm and White Fang routed."

It _was_ unfortunate that Cinder had failed, but Salem had not become so attached to her as to forget that Cinder ultimately proved unworthy of what she'd been promised. The girl had her ambitions, but apparently she hadn't possessed the means to carry them to fruition… though she _had_ achieved something important.

"If nothing else, she succeeded in killing dear Ozpin," Salem noted. "Otherwise he'd have made a point to reassure the world personally, and this new Maiden would've never had the courage to say all this with Ozpin holding firm to her leash."

Watts seemed satisfied with that. It was obvious in retrospect.

It also _wasn't_ the important detail of the shot; that would instead be the color of the short girl's eyes and the faint hint of Aura behind her twin-colored gaze. She looked so apprehensive at being caught on film, and in her fright she'd let a bit of the power slip out. The Faunus betrayed no such power, but Salem speculated she was not present simply for moral support. She looked no more comfortable being on screen than her shorter peer.

The girl Pyrrha Nikos was not likely to be interested in whatever Salem could offer her, but her two female friends seemed to prefer the shadows to the spotlight. And if the Maiden power existed in multiple vessels at once as it had with Cinder Salem could easily turn them against each other until only the most powerful –or pragmatic- among them possessed it.

Cinder spoke of adding disciples to her faction. If any of them remained…

"Contact Cinder's subordinates in Vale," Salem instructed Watts. "Tell them to regroup with as many survivors as possible and return to their queen's service. If Cinder recruited any useful allies, we must see to it that we still have agents present at Beacon. "

Watts bowed and lifted his Scroll. Salem took one last look at the two others in the background, at least one of whom held some of the Fall Maiden's power.

They were no doubt used to the shadows. And enough time in shadows made the light seem less and less inviting.

* * *

The trip down from the tower was over surprisingly quickly, but the ride to the ground was _very_ tense. Neo requested to be dropped off in Beacon and Jaune accompanied her, partially to honor Neo's own wish he do so and partially to placate his other friends by not leaving Neo alone, as though she might try to flee at any moment. The teachers were fairly quiet on the trip back to the Vale safe zone, though Pyrrha seemed content with her accomplishment. Blake kept her attention focused on Yang, who –while noticeably calmer without Neo in her sights- was still quietly simmering. Ruby suggested they check on some of their other friends who might've been injured in the fight, and conveniently suggested they split into pairs when they do so. Ren and Nora tried to accompany Pyrrha, but she insisted they get proper medical attention for the damage they suffered, and they reluctantly agreed, leaving Pyrrha to deal with the teachers.

Port and Oobleck were quiet as they led, and Pyrrha was silent in following them. They were just shepherding her to her destination; they weren't the ones who wanted to express their displeasure, at least not directly. _That_ they'd leave to the people in charge in Ozpin's absence, and Port and Oobleck decided not to remain when they brought Pyrrha to a temporary Atlas barracks, where Glynda, Qrow, and Ironwood waited for her in a sort of temporary office setup, Glynda behind a desk and the two men on either side of her.

Roughly three seconds after Port and Oobleck departed and the door was firmly shut behind them, Ironwood demanded: "What were you thinking?"

Pyrrha had been preparing herself for this. "That I wanted to become a huntress; that I was going to devote my life to fighting against the evils of the world and always put myself in the path of danger. I understand why you thought this was something you needed to hide away, but you also chose me to receive this power, and _I_ choose to do something more with it than leave it stashed away in a vault."

"And in doing so endangered yourself and this kingdom by declaring your location," Glynda added. "Whatever you may think of our actions beforehand, Miss Nikos, I'm sure you can understand our concerns regarding the security of the students at Beacon and the citizens of Vale, should someone try to attack while the kingdom is at such a severe disadvantage."

"The moment you appeared on television I received messages from the council of both Atlas and Vale," Ironwood continued, sternly crossing his arms. "Do you have any idea how tense the situation is between kingdoms right now? Do you really think none of the students here to take part in the tournament might be inclined to turn on you if they have any understanding of the Maidens' powers at all? To say nothing of any remaining saboteurs or coconspirators who survived the battle…"

"I'm sure they did," Pyrrha agreed. "Because one of them decided to ally with us and put a stop to Cinder's plan, and Cinder was alone when we faced her in the tower."

"Yes, I remember her all too well," Ironwood growled, pulling up his Scroll and replaying the footage, pausing on a short girl with tricolored hair grasping Pyrrha's left hand.

"Doctor Oobleck provided a secondhand account of her physical description from Team RWBY in his report on the mission to Mountain Glenn. After that she was reported eluding the Vale police and causing property damage that _you_ paid for," Glynda interjected. "Do you really expect us to believe she's simply had a change of heart?"

"Yes," was Pyrrha's simple reply. "She is very different today from the person she was yesterday."

"How so?" Glynda asked, raising her hand to push her spectacles further up her nose, giving Pyrrha an increasingly skeptical look.

Pyrrha had known this would be tricky to explain. But she was committed to telling the truth now, and she had no interest in a secret eating away at her again. So she pressed on. "The Maiden's Aura was already split when you asked me to undergo the process. When we finally defeated Cinder, I wasn't the only one who received the power from her."

Ironwood and Glynda were both quick to catch on, their eyes widening. "You mean…" Glynda began.

"Yes," Pyrrha confirmed. "I'm not the _only_ Fall Maiden."

* * *

Neo had been very quiet in leading Jaune through the rubble. This wasn't always something she could help, but Neo hadn't shown him any messages on her Scroll since they landed, save that she was looking for something and had a general idea where to look. Jaune was concerned about the two of them being isolated and alone in what had been a warzone a few hours earlier, but at least there was light out and it seemed as though the Grimm had fled. The ruins and smoke were still off-putting, but at least there were fewer shadows to catch him by surprise with more and more morning light filtering in through the crumbling stone and steel.

Unfortunately, just following after Neo left him to do little more than think about what she'd told him already… what Pyrrha and Blake knew too, that Neo _had_ cared for him and their relationship had meant something to her. At first he was overcome by grief and tried to apologize, but then he was elated to think about what could be rebuilt and what could still follow… until he again thought about the strange process where the three girls had shared minds, and then his spirits fell again.

Before he'd kissed Neo he'd kissed Blake. Though at the time Blake had told him it was a mistake, she'd pretty clearly changed her mind… and so had Jaune, when he finally returned Blake's gesture the previous day, only for _Pyrrha_ to kiss him shortly after that, and Jaune to return that same affection.

He felt something for all of them and they all knew it. Maybe they understood it thanks to their unusual experience, but Jaune had only one mind to process three entirely different feelings of guilt.

He'd thought Neo had left him, but still he was surprised at how quickly he was able to move on. And while he'd certainly come to care about Neo, he'd made very little effort to learn about her past, about her likes and dislikes, about all the little pieces of her personality that couldn't be conveyed through little signs of affection and texts on a Scroll. He wasn't honestly sure what she was after now, and the further they traveled from the others the more time he had to think on all he'd done wrong, and what he might've done differently now.

Time and again he tried to speak, to initiate conversation and just ask her a question. At various points he thought he might simply ask how her day had been.

Until they came upon the wreckage of Blue Two, and the answer to that question became all too frighteningly apparent. And Jaune remembered whom Neo had loved most in all the world, and whose arms she'd rushed back to when she thought Jaune had betrayed her.

Neo stood before the smoldering pieces of ship hull, taking in the sight. Jaune moved closer to her, reaching his hand towards her shoulder. "Neo…?"

His fingers never managed to find Neo, who stepped towards the wreckage, her head ever so slightly lowered as she stared at something on the ground, crouching down to move aside a few pieces of debris, then very slowly lift up what she'd been seeking. Jaune had only briefly seen Roman Torchwick in person and his mugshot lacked the trademark accompaniment, but he remembered the red-striped black bowler hat. And based on Neo's reactions…

Some people could be forgiven for thinking Neo made no sound at all; she was so quiet it was easy to miss. Jaune had spent enough time around her to recognize her small breaths, and now they were emerging from her as rapid, strangled sobs.

He'd seen Neo cry before, but even then she'd kept herself contained. He'd seen her tears but never once heard her sadness given voice.

Jaune stepped over, deliberately walking around her rather than trying to approach her back: he wanted to be sure she could see him coming, even with tears in her eyes and all her attention on a discarded hat. He waited for her eyes to find his, for her to finally look up at him and see clearly she was not alone.

Neo never quite managed to raise her head. She shut her eyes tight and pressed the hat to her chest, crossing her arms over herself, trying to bury the pain rising up within her. Her sobs were impossible to miss now, and Jaune knew he had to act, even if it meant catching her by surprise and provoking her wrath.

Whatever she had with Roman had clearly been special. He hoped to understand it one day… but for the moment it was for more pressing he made clear to Neo he was there for her and despair wasn't the only emotion she needed to feel.

He was slow in motion, giving Neo ample time to retreat from him if she so wished. She was still sobbing when he pressed her head to his chest and wrapped his arms around her, offering her some warmth from outside to help combat the cold sadness growing from within.

Neo had known this was Roman's fate the previous night, but had still needed to confirm it for herself. She needed to know there was nothing more that could be done, to know that he wasn't just waiting for her to regroup so they could finally leave and have the life together they were meant to.

But then nothing in Neo's life had ended up as it was _meant to_. She should've died on the streets long before, and even if things had gone to plan for them, Cinder may well have killed Roman and herself once their usefulness to her had ended… or worse, she'd be alive now, alone before this place that would mark Roman's headstone with nothing but bitter anger and vengeance left to her.

Instead she had Jaune holding her to him, reminding her that whatever she had lost -however great her sorrow was- she was not alone.

And vengeance…

Cinder was dead. And while she may have _led_ Roman to this fate, she was _not_ his killer. And while she'd managed to hold back at the time, Neo very much wanted to harm Ruby Rose for what the girl in the hood had done.

But she was Jaune's friend. And Blake and Pyrrha's friend… and by extension, Neo now had memories of the younger girl as her friend, almost as recent as Neo had memories of battling her atop the warship that composed the scattered wreckage that now served as a gravesite.

She tried to be satisfied with the revenge she had. She tried to tell herself denying Cinder her victory gave Roman's ghost peace and she wouldn't be haunted by his memory.

Here, in Jaune's arms, she believed it was possible.

But holding Roman's hat, knowing he was gone… she wondered just how many times she could forgive, and whether or not she _should_. After all, no one would mourn Roman Torchwick but her. No one else would carry on his legacy but his only family, and Neo very much wished for his final day in the world to be remembered as something more than failure and defeat.

She couldn't quite manage to put the thought aside. Much as she wished to forget and find contentment there in Jaune's arms, she couldn't simply let go. Not yet.

* * *

Blake and Yang had meant to accompany Ruby and Weiss in visiting their injured friends, but Ruby had eventually made efforts to split off with Weiss, and Blake discreetly motioned for Yang and herself to find somewhere quiet to talk.

The safe zone was still packed with people -both Vale citizens and visitors from the other three kingdoms- but more and more were leaving on transports with each passing hour. In addition to the various Atlas barracks being offered to civilians, a few temporary housing units had been set up with cots and heating lamps and Blake found an unoccupied one for them to sit and talk a moment.

"And here I thought you might be into Jaune," Yang dryly observed before giving Blake a wink.

Blake tried to appreciate her partner's good humor, though at the moment it was taxing… mostly because Yang wasn't wrong. "He's not the one I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, come on," Yang moaned, "You make it sound like I'm gonna attack her at any moment…"

"And you're telling me you won't?" Blake asked. "You _won't_ try and take your shot if you get the chance to?"

"I'm not looking to pick a fight," Yang assured her. "Not right now, anyway."

"And tomorrow? The day after?" Blake inquired.

"I thought we already had this talk," Yang noted.

Blake recalled it well, after watching Yang's battle with Mercury. The thought of tears in her lilac eyes reminded Blake how hard it could be to talk to Yang… especially when it came to reining in her passion. Much like Jaune, she was always very genuine and sincere in her efforts.

Which made her hatred for Neo all the harder for Blake to address, because Yang had good reason to hate her. Even after entering into an alliance with her to stop Cinder, Blake wouldn't have made this effort to talk to Yang now had it not been for the experience they shared at the top of Beacon tower, where Neo's memories became Blake's.

"She's sticking around now," Blake reminded her. "She's not going anywhere. Are you really going to be able to put up with her day in and day out?"

"So what if she stays?" was Yang's flippant reply. "It's not like I'll have to spend any time with her; isn't that what Jaune will be doing?"

"Not just him," Blake corrected. "Pyrrha and I as well… we'll have to be around her just as often." Blake reached a hand up to feel to her chest, watching Yang out of the corner of her eye, making sure she was paying attention. "Right now, apart from her I feel… _off_. I feel… I'm not even sure how to describe it; a burning sensation almost like hunger, right under my skin. Something from me, some little piece of my soul is with her now, and another piece is with Pyrrha. When we separated from each other, it hit me, building up slowly and hurting worse and worse. I think Neo herself is okay –she's still got Jaune with her, after all- but I don't know how Pyrrha's handling it. I think she's taking it better."

Blake activated her Aura, the thin barrier forming over her body in a very visible line of white, so much energy radiating off her it appeared almost like flames rising from the surface, not unlike the explosion of energy that accompanied Yang's Semblance. "We're all bound with each other now, and whatever she may have done before, she's a Maiden now… or part of one, or akin to one, or whatever this thing with us is. And when this happened, when our Auras were linked, I experienced her memories. I saw things from her perspective."

"Short?" Yang snarked.

Blake shook her head. "Alone."

Yang was contemplative for a moment, as the Aura rising off Blake slowly dispersed, the power returning within her. The release of energy had alleviated the pain a moment, and then it returned almost as quickly, a nagging burn in the pit of her stomach.

"So you saw all the things she did firsthand, then," Yang noted. "You know everything she's guilty of."

"Things _I'm_ guilty of too, Yang," Blake argued. "Stealing, killing… following someone I loved no matter how bad he got. Do you really think she's so much worse than I am?"

"Do you really think I should forget that she tried to kill me and Ruby?" Yang demanded.

"Do you think _she_ can forget that Ruby killed _her_ family?" Blake was quick to fire back.

A long silence hung in the air between them. Neither spoke for several moments.

Eventually, Blake continued. "We sat and talked like this before the dance, remember? When I was so angry about Roman Torchwick I wouldn't let myself sleep and kept ignoring you guys when you tried to help?"

"I remember," Yang eventually confirmed.

"Well, now I remember _loving_ Roman like family," Blake explained, though her face noticeably scrunched up at the notion. "I remember him taking me in and helping me survive and offering me friendship and support… and then I remember when we fought on the train, how badly I wanted to kill him right then and there."

"Maybe you should have," Yang mused.

Blake couldn't deny wondering if things could've ended differently… but they could've just as easily ended with Yang hurt –even killed- by Adam yesterday too. She was content with the good fortune she'd found already.

"The point I'm getting at is that sometimes the bad guys aren't as bad as we think they are," Blake replied, lifting her hand from her chest and looking down at the flat of her palm. "And maybe we're not as good. Life's more complicated than that."

She needed more than the platitude she'd offered; Blake still had to dissuade Yang from chasing after revenge. Blake had to remind her of its cost.

"Yesterday, Neo killed Adam," Blake explained. "After she saved both our lives. Then she helped us kill Cinder. Yes, she did terrible things… but she did those terrible things at the right times. When she didn't have Roman calling her shots, she put down people even worse."

"Well, you were in her head," Yang noted. "She suddenly have a change of heart?"

"No, not at all," Blake conceded. "Nothing about her change was sudden… it all happened because Jaune was willing to put his faith in her, to believe that she wasn't a vicious psychopath like everyone else did."

Blake had gained a little more confidence now, holding Yang's gaze. "And he put faith in me too, deciding to believe in me even when he knew I'd betrayed his trust; when I helped you try to catch her after the breach."

Blake thought back to the Saturday before the dance again. "I'm not asking you to _forget_ , Yang. I'm not even asking you to forgive. I'm just asking you to… not spend all your time angry at her for what she's done; not hate someone just because of the person they were in the past."

Yang knew just how personal that last one was for Blake. And while Yang was not in any way keen to drop her grudge, hearing her partner ask this of her…

She didn't understand what Blake had experienced, but capable liar though Blake could be, she'd never admit to sympathizing with Roman Torchwick had she not experienced something truly powerful. And while Blake wasn't actively mourning his loss, she did seem saddened to mention it, just as Yang had been when she spoke of Summer's death.

Neo regarded Roman as family, and the loss of that family had torn at her heart. That above all Yang could easily understand.

"Well, let's give it a try, then," Yang suggested.

Blake seemed puzzled. "Yang…?"

"When she gets back, we sit down –you, me, her, Rubes, maybe Jaune…all of us if we have to- and we talk this out," Yang clarified. "I'm not saying it'll go the way you want it to, but if she's sincere… if she's really changed then I'll give her a shot."

Blake knew that was equivalent to throwing a lit match at a pile of explosives. Whatever accord Neo had reached with Pyrrha and Blake, she was _not_ over what Ruby had done to Roman. Yang's proposed meeting could very easily end badly for all of them.

But if it meant peace between them, an end to Yang's grudge and possibly even some reconciliation in whoever was able to reach for it…

It was important they try. It had to be a better solution than just letting the thoughts fester in Yang and Neo as each contemplated revenge from afar.

Blake wordlessly nodded. If nothing else, they'd see just how strong a grudge could be and whether friendship was enough to defeat it.

* * *

Ironwood held up a display of Oobleck's Scroll footage of Neo. Glynda held up a display of Blake's student profile. Qrow held up a flask and took an extended draught from it.

Ironwood pinched between his eyes with his free hand. "So instead of the Fall Maiden's powers binding to you, they _also_ ended up in a former member of the White Fang _and_ a dangerous criminal who actively fought against us for the first half of the battle. Well, I suppose there's some positive in that you didn't mention _that_ in your little speech."

"Only because I didn't want to make the decision for them," Pyrrha explained. "I won't be keeping any secrets, but I won't be forcing anyone to follow my example."

Pyrrha broke eye contact, though only briefly. She had no trouble expressing her defiance to these adults and their conspiracies, but she had much greater difficulty recalling her own wrongdoing. "Secrets can hurt more than you realize, even when you think you're keeping them for the right reasons." When she looked at Ironwood again, she was assertive once more. "So if you want to keep protecting this lie you can, if only because my friends weren't as eager to step into the light as I was."

"By protecting the identities of a former terrorist and a woman who s _laughtered_ my soldiers," Ironwood spat.

"With all due respect, General," Pyrrha replied. "Your _machines_ caused more harm to the innocent than Neo or Blake ever did." And she had the memories to confirm it.

For a long time Ironwood just glared at her. He clearly wasn't used to being countermanded, and he wasn't willing to conceal his distaste as he had with Ozpin. And while Pyrrha hadn't objected to telling him off, she conceded she may have gone too far, and this standoff wasn't getting them anywhere.

"But ultimately Cinder was responsible for the virus that turned your knights and paladins against the people," Pyrrha amended. "And they were the ones to stop her and save Beacon right along with me."

Pyrrha thought back on her memories mingling with the other two. "Blake had to fight against her former comrades in the White Fang. Terrible as she felt to do it, she knew she had to: better they think her a traitor than she stand by and let the Grimm kill the innocent. Neo could've just run away and left us to die, but she came back to save the life of someone important to her."

"Mister Arc, you mean," Glynda interjected.

Pyrrha briefly nodded to confirm. "And even after that she remained with us, defeating Cinder and fending off the Grimm."

"I have no doubts about Miss Belladonna's sincerity," Ironwood decided. "She could've turned on Beacon when the battle was still going the White Fang's way or earlier than that at the breach. But this one-" he furiously pointed at the camera footage of Neo, "- _this one_ did nothing but gain from what happened last night. She's exactly the sort of person who might come to steal the Maiden's power; exactly the sort of person Ozpin organized us to defend against."

How wrong he was to assume Neo hadn't lost anything. "All she ever wanted was to protect the people she cared about," Pyrrha explained.

"And noble as that motivation sounds, it's still inherently selfish," Ironwood argued. "The desire to protect can very easily become the need to direct and control… and protecting your own can often lead you to decide _not_ to protect anyone else."

Ironwood hit a little closer to home than Pyrrha was comfortable with; a reminder of her own misguided efforts to protect her own. "And what would you suggest we do, General? Put her in your machine and rip the powers out of her?"

"If you prefer that to ordering her execution for crimes against the kingdoms of Atlas and Vale," Ironwood sternly replied.

Pyrrha had at times found it difficult to compose her thoughts when speaking to the teachers about this, but this was the first instance since arriving in the barracks she was truly surprised. "You'd… execute her?"

"To ensure the safety of… not only our kingdoms, but the world?" Ironwood replied. "Yes. I don't know why the Maiden's power has split, but I _do_ know that it's currently in the wrong hands. You can go out there and make yourself a target… but I'll be damned if I'll let her be the one who receives it all should it ever reconstitute in a single host."

Pyrrha turned her attention to Glynda. "And you'd just allow him to do this?"

Glynda was quiet for a long moment as she put aside Blake's student profile. "If that's what the Vale council agrees must be done. Her decision to help defend Beacon does _not_ erase her decision to work in the employ of a criminal like Roman Torchwick or her decision to kill soldiers assigned to defend Vale during the Vytal Festival. And while I don't share all of General Ironwood's views, I do agree that a criminal should be punished for her crimes."

Pyrrha glanced between all three. Qrow continued to silently drink, having contributed nothing to the conversation yet. "And then what?" Pyrrha asked, returning her attention to Ironwood and Glynda.

"There will be a lot of questions about what happened today," Ironwood explained. "But if the girl cooperates, I'm sure we can be lenient in sentencing. She deserves worse for what she did to my men, but I think the council will be content with a number of years imprisoned."

Pyrrha's eyes widened. There was no way –even if Neo were willing to give the Maiden's power up- that she'd agree to that. No matter what strides she'd taken to be a better person, she wouldn't let Ironwood throw her in a cage like he had with Roman.

"She won't go along," Pyrrha assured him.

"Well," Ironwood mused, "It's fortunate that we have yourself and Miss Belladonna here for when she inevitably reminds us of her true colors."

* * *

Neo and Jaune eventually managed to remove themselves from the flagship's crash site, returning back to the school grounds. Jaune took note of the dorms still mostly intact, and awkwardly suggested: "Would you… like to sit down a moment? Before we return to the others?"

Neo recognized the location; she hadn't been so far away when she posed as Cinder's teammate. Though Roman was still weighing heavily on her mind, she thought it might make a good distraction. Neo nodded, and reached one hand over to take hold of Jaune's, waiting on him to lead her.

Jaune complied, taking her inside. The elevator was broken so he led her up four flights of stairs… clearly he hadn't only invited her in so they could rest for a while. Not if he wanted her to accompany him to the top floor.

When they reached the twin dorms of RWBY and JNPR, Jaune no longer needed his Scroll to unlock his door; it seemed the security system -or possibly the entire electrical grid- was no longer functional. Jaune pushed the door open and invited Neo inside with a wave of his arm.

She had wondered if she'd ever see his dorm room; if she'd ever experience this side of his life. They'd spent so long in an isolated pocket, away from Jaune's studies and Neo's particular brand of work at times it was hard to remember what went on in the rest of the world. And she didn't particularly _want_ to think about the rest of the world when she was with Jaune. She wanted only to be where she was then and there, without the past to haunt her or the future to wait on the horizon.

Now she couldn't help but think on the past: she carried it around in one hand. And the future seemed very close, as she couldn't help but think what would happen now. How long would she sit in a safe zone patrolled by Atlesian soldiers? How long would it take for Jaune (and Blake and Pyrrha) to return to school? How long until someone came looking for Pyrrha's power the way Cinder had for Amber's?

And of course… how long would it be until someone came looking for revenge on her? For the tournament, for the White Fang, for Atlas, for Cinder…

They'd saved Beacon together, and yet their future seemed less certain than it'd be had the school fallen to the Grimm. At least then they'd still be moving and not left to be consumed by doubts and fears.

Having Jaune on hand helped with that. He pointed out the amenities, his room having gone largely untouched. His exposition combined with what Neo could recall of Pyrrha's memories of having been there, and it completed the picture for her. It gave her insight into Jaune as he was away from Neo's eye, and she wasn't surprised to learn he was just as endearing and kind in this other place as he was with her.

But at the same time, Neo clearly saw a life she didn't fit into. She'd never known this sort of camaraderie or this advanced education Jaune and Pyrrha and Blake all shared; more even than Jaune, Neo was the outlier among them. Even now, with their souls all bound together, she was still apart from them.

And from him.

Jaune sat down on his bed, but didn't remain upright for very long, gradually sliding down to lie upon the mattress and then fighting not to drift off to sleep. No doubt bearing the brunt of Cinder's attack and remaining up all night and then letting Neo lead him around had left him quite exhausted, even with his considerable Aura. Neo curled up beside him, removing her hand from his grip and sliding over his face to close his eyes.

Jaune mentioned how much he enjoyed the sight of Neo sleeping beside him. He may have been on to something, because she quite liked the sight of Jaune beside her, listening to soft breaths and watching slow, subtle rising and falling in his chest. Pressed to him she could revel in his warmth, and given how tall he was compared to her she really could lie just about anywhere and find a good groove to nestle herself within. While making herself comfortable lying beside him, Neo felt Roman's bowler poke into her side and she hoisted it up, holding it in the air over her head and thinking on that past she was so desperately trying to escape from by huddling so close to the present.

Neo turned her attention back to Jaune and held the hat before him, covering his scraggly blonde head and squinting. It was a good look for him, but then, it _was_ a very nice hat.

The longer she looked at it, however…

She fell in love with Jaune in part because of him showing her kindness just as Roman had. But the longer she spent with him, the clearer it was Jaune Arc was _not_ Roman Torchwick. Roman showed Neo a side of himself no one else got to see. Jaune was always the kind, sincere person she'd met on that first night at the docks and never pretended to be any worse than that.

Neo loved Roman. She missed him terribly. But Jaune was not a replacement, and the love she had for him… well, she was hoping that'd be enough to change her for the better.

She slid on Roman's hat herself. It was too big and sat lopsided on her head, but she had managed to put the burden of carrying Roman aside without having to cast him away. She could still keep him with her without him at the forefront of her mind. And lying beside Jaune, it was possible for her to think her sadness wouldn't follow her around forever.

And as an added bonus, she had a memory of herself and him that she didn't know would be shared with Blake and Pyrrha… possibly only this one last time, but still a present she could remain in. And when the future inevitably arrived, at least she'd be beside him.

Neo nestled her head to Jaune's chest and closed her eyes.

* * *

"And I don't suppose there's anything I can say to dissuade you?" Pyrrha asked.

"Do you really believe the girl is deserving of clemency?" Glynda asked. "I'm sure now that you've announced your intention to become a guardian of the kingdom the Vale Council will listen to what you have to say."

Pyrrha thought long and hard on the matter. She replayed the various memories from the perspectives of both Neo and herself, and whether or not she was deserving of forgiveness. Though Pyrrha had certainly been obligated to apologize for wronging Neo for her own selfish and petty reasons, there was so much more to consider.

At first she stole to survive: food for her belly and Lien to rent a room when the night was too cold to sleep through. Perhaps not ideal, but not something Pyrrha could begrudge her for.

Then under Torchwick more complex and elaborate heists. Certainly she never intended to kill, but never batted an eye when she did, and certainly stole more than she needed to survive. All of it done for Roman and at his behest, but with each theft it was harder and harder for Pyrrha to justify with her own moral compass… but she tried to be understanding nonetheless, to see it from Neo's perspective, where morality was centered entirely around doing what was best for Roman and herself.

Sympathy whittled away further after Neo killed two members of the White Fang… cruel men, criminals themselves, but also men already subdued, whom Jaune suggested she simply have arrested. It was more important to Neo then to defend a stash of stolen goods than it was to preserve a life.

And then Neo suffered through increasingly tense alliances with the White Fang and Cinder Fall, all for Roman's sake… only to briefly entertain a better life as Jaune started pulling her away from all that wrongdoing, though never once did she accept Roman deserved the imprisonment he received for trying to lead Grimm into Beacon. Neo had yet to suffer repercussions for willingly helping him do so, because the only lives that mattered to her were Jaune's and Roman's, and so long as they were safe she was willing to let thousands of others suffer and die.

And then she killed several soldiers on Blue Two to free Roman, and then gave him the virus Cinder had written to take control of Ironwood's robots, unleashing them on the innocent. She may not have pulled the trigger, but she stood by and watched the weapon fired all the same.

It was hard to deny the truth. Not when Pyrrha had declared her intention to uphold it.

"I don't know," Pyrrha admitted. "I want to believe anyone can be redeemed."

"You know my kingdom's position," Ironwood remarked. "I'll give you time to consider my offer, but if she doesn't agree to surrender herself, I'll personally see to it she is… dealt with."

"There's no need to threaten the girl, James," Glynda interjected, casting the general a very stern look.

Qrow had apparently heard enough and sidled away. Ironwood raised an eyebrow and inquired: "Nothing to add, Qrow?"

"Seems to me like you've made up your mind," Qrow replied with a shrug. "So right after we all fight off the Grimm and the rest of Salem's little buddies we go right back to fighting each other. _Great_ plan."

"Salem?" Pyrrha repeated.

Qrow cast her a crooked smile. "Secrets, kid. Like you said… they can hurt more than you realize. Especially when we're all supposed to be on the same side."

Ironwood was aghast. "Qrow… what did you just-"

"I'm gonna take a minute to say hi to my nieces," Qrow answered. "Then I'll go into Beacon and bring the girl and her little boyfriend back; see if maybe we can work something out before _anybody_ decides that killing an ally is the way to settle our problems."

Ironwood continued to glare after Qrow's back as he headed out of the barracks. Glynda was more ambivalent, but also clearly displeased by what he'd said.

Pyrrha focused her attention on Glynda. There was only one question on her mind: "Who is Salem?"

* * *

True to his word, Qrow did find his nieces. Ruby and Yang were with their teammates visiting Ruby's Faunus friend Velvet, who'd taken a bad hit fighting an Atlesian paladin. The rabbit-eared girl seemed in good enough health and spirits not to be bothered by Ruby's attention shifting elsewhere, as she bounded over to glomp her uncle's side with an enthusiastic: "Uncle Qroooww!"

Qrow never got tired of that. Still, he knew he shouldn't wait too long, just in case James turned out to be right about Neo and she had already decided to flee. He figured the blonde kid with her must've been easy to sway, given he was a teenage boy and she was a pretty girl.

Still, he'd ended up carrying something important and needed to find some place to keep it, away from the interested hands of a professional thief. He'd probably eventually let Glynda know he had it, but he'd wait for a good time to tell her when James wasn't present. For now…

"Here, kid, I need you to do me a favor and hang onto this," Qrow requested, pulling up Ozpin's cane and handing the collapsed device to Ruby. "I've been looking after it but I need to make a quick run back to Beacon before we send in any cleanup crews."

Ruby inspected the device. She'd seen Ozpin hold it several times, yet apparently couldn't work out how to extend the staff. "Why? Isn't this just a… cane?"

"Actually, it's a relic that gives you ultimate power," Qrow replied.

Ruby snorted before she started laughing. "Come on, really?"

"Not only that," Qrow assured her. "It's also a gun."

"Okay, _that_ I believe," Ruby confirmed. "Show me how this thing works."

Qrow ruffled her hair. "When I get back, kid. Just hang onto it for me for a moment… I'll tell you the whole story."

"Maybe another time," Ruby suggested. "Yang and Blake asked me to meet Jaune and Neo later. We… uh… we have some stuff to talk about."

Another subject for Qrow to bring up when he found them. Though not something he'd be mentioning to Ruby.

No doubt Pyrrha thought it'd be easy to tell the truth. Even to loved ones… sometimes it was very difficult. And lies of omission were more the rule than the exception with the two girls he loved the most.

Qrow made his exit and headed out as quickly as he'd come by. Ruby glanced around for him, but only saw a black bird flapping up over the city.

* * *

Jaune woke after less than an hour of rest. Neo had slept even less –if she'd slept at all- but felt quite rested when she felt him stir beside her. For a long time they just lay there in his bed, finally enjoying the chance to share the moment they'd been denied again and again.

Each tried to tell the other their thoughts, to explain what they wanted, where they thought things were going. Neither got very far before they simply lay in bed in an embrace, words disappearing under the greater power of one kiss after another.

They managed to refrain from going any further than that, but only just. Only because their friends were waiting, and they knew they had to return at some point, before Pyrrha sent them another text. Jaune made a point to gather what non-perishable staple foods he could from his dorm and the common room before he and Neo headed outside…

…to be greeted by a duo; a dark skinned girl with green hair and a tall boy with silver hair. Neo was at once on her guard, and Jaune followed shortly thereafter with Crocea Mors after he dropped all the stuff he'd attempted to haul out.

Mercury put up his hands. "Whoa, there, guys, hang on. We're not here to fight."

"Normally we'd have left as soon as things went south," Emerald added. "But someone asked us to extend an invitation to _you_ specifically, Neo."

Neo eyed the green haired girl warily. She was in no hurry to hear her out, and even less to believe her.

"Turns out Cinder wasn't the one calling the shots," Mercury explained. "And the _real_ lady in charge? She wanted to ask you a question."

Emerald pulled out her Scroll, typing something onto the tiny datapad. "How did she put it… 'what is your favorite fairy tale?'"

Neo inferred immediately. Ozpin had asked Pyrrha the same thing.

From the Scroll came a holographic projection; tattered and blurred with static, of a woman with sickly pale skin and burning red eyes. It wasn't often Neo was frightened, but this woman intimidated her more than Cinder ever had without even being physically present.

"More than that, child," the projection asked her, "…what do you want most in all the world? Because I can grant it… if you're strong enough to hold it."

A black bird looked on, perched on one of the guest dorms… as mankind's greatest enemy extended a hand of friendship to the weapon that could be used to stop her.

* * *

Back at the refugee camp in the safe zone, Ruby was continuing to work on Ozpin's cane. Normally Ruby was the one entrusted when weapon maintenenace became difficult or required some specialty, but this weapon seemed to vex her as she failed time and again to extend the staff from its collapsed state. Yang and Weiss were highly amused by her attempts –particularly when she started bashing it against the ground- but Blake was still feeling quite irritable from being separated from the other two Maidens, and the way Ruby bashed the cane to the ground hit her sensitive ears particularly hard.

"Here," Blake requested, walking over and extending her hand. Though Ruby looked like she might prefer to continue venting, she eventually complied and handed the headmaster's cane to her.

At once the staff extended. All eyes turned to Blake holding the weapon… especially when the white spherical bauble on the cane opened up, revealing a smaller white sphere within, embedded with a swirling pattern.

Blake looked down at the compartment she'd inadvertently opened and reached her fingers in. When she hoisted up the sphere, it glowed a brighter white, and Blake's Aura responded to it… the white fire of her Maiden power encircling this small white ball, the color running along its surface in a constant, repeating cycle… spinning around like a planet moving through its orbit.

"Ruby..." Blake just managed to say. "What did your uncle say this was?"

"He… uh, said it was a relic that gives you… ultimate power…" Ruby replied.

Blake looked down at the tiny spinning sphere. Whatever it was, it seemed to divert her attention from the burning pangs that had been troubling her before.

And there _was_ power within it. Blake could feel it pressing to her fingertips and pushing into her body, like a pulse to match her own.

Of all the things she might've heard today, the last she expected was for a drunk to tell her the truth.


	15. Hope

**Chapter Fifteen: Hope**

* * *

 _Never believe. Never trust. Never hope._

Roman believed in what he could see and what he could hold in his hands. He taught Neo to value the material because it had a recognized value; a number assigned to it that denoted its worth. People were much harder to quantify, and in Roman's experience would always falter in some way that made their relative value unpredictable. Neo herself was an exception: the only person he trusted and put his faith in and hoped would find more to life than just the numbers they spent all their time procuring. But she was the exception for good reason. She was the exception because she never spoke.

People lied _constantly_. Even when they tried to tell the truth they tended to aggrandize and exaggerate and as a result their information was unreliable. Then, of course, when people _tried_ to lie things only got murkier. Roman lied constantly to everyone but Neo, and did it so well that others occasionally mistook it for the truth, further convincing her that the truth was at best incomplete and at worst deliberately avoided. There was no reason to ever believe _anyone_ –even those outside their particular line of work-because _no one_ was ever completely honest.

She trusted Roman, because their bond had been forged in a shared pool of experience and hardship. There were others out there with similar backgrounds that Neo or Roman might've sympathized with, but the harsh pragmatism they learned from struggling to survive was a lesson imparted to everyone who'd fought for that goal. From the petty thieves they'd sometimes associate with to the fanatical zealots in the White Fang, every ally they ever knew would inevitably turn on them if they thought they saw an opportunity to advance their own interests. There was no honor among thieves to be sure, but when presented with a chance for a bigger cut or a resource they could take, _everyone_ discarded their honor in order to survive.

And while Roman had given Neo reason to hope for the better after rescuing her from the cold, he'd also taught her not to aspire for anything grander than a few luxuries. Ambition and talent could carry a person quite far, but more often than not people choked on their own aspirations or they were cut off at the knees when they grew large enough to bother the existing power structures. Roman told her not to try and change the world any more than to carve a small portion of it for herself and her own, because even if she was strong enough to hold more than she needed, someone stronger and greedier than herself would eventually take notice.

Cinder was just such a person… someone so powerful and so ambitious Roman sided with her and agreed to increasingly unreasonable demands because he thought that was the only way to survive. Even though he knew he was a disposable pawn to Cinder Roman played his part, always doing his level best to keep Neo away from her eye both to defend his family _and_ to keep something in reserve when she inevitably broke her promises. Roman was still betting on what he thought was a sure thing… and very well might've been had it not been for Neo deciding to oppose her and avenge the man whose life Cinder so easily discarded.

Emerald and Mercury were like Roman and herself; untrusting and self-interested but with a clear loyalty to one another. They'd expected Cinder to win too, and because they still had some value to her they expected to be rewarded. And if they were now serving some new mistress… the only kind of person who could bring strong fighters like those two to heel was someone whose power scared them enough to risk their own lives by seeking an audience with Cinder's killer.

This woman they represented was nothing but a holographic projection, but even without any physical presence Neo could detect her power. Just as it was with Cinder, Neo had to actively project a braver front and pretend she was stronger than she felt. Whatever powers she'd gained from killing Cinder were still less than whatever Cinder had at her peak, but if Neo killing a Maiden didn't scare this woman off…

She was making promises; _big_ promises. That was the first sign for Neo not to entertain whatever proposal was being offered. No one with power bartered away more of it than they needed to. No one with something worth coveting was in any hurry to give it up.

"I know that you've stolen from Cinder," the woman in the hologram explained. "I know that you possess the Maiden's power. That makes you quite uniquely valuable to me… possibly more than anyone I've ever made a pact with."

That was exaggeration to be sure. More lies, less reason for Neo to believe a word this woman said. She shifted her eyes around between Jaune at her right and Mercury and Emerald in front of her. Emerald could create illusions; there was no reason to assume she was where she appeared to be. But as Neo recalled, their allies were all dead: Cinder, Adam and his White Fang…

Roman.

"I do not wish for your power," the woman in the hologram clarified. "Instead, I want only to have you use it… to retrieve something only someone with your power can find."

Neo couldn't deny she was curious about that. It was never prudent to betray someone if you still needed something from them… though it was just as likely she was being targeted because this unknown woman wanted to eliminate her while she had only a fraction of the Maiden's power, and then redirect it to a softer target.

"I'm not sure how much you know about the Maidens, but I'm certain you don't know what your power is really capable of," the woman continued. "Because Cinder never told you, and Ozpin went to great lengths to bury his shameful secret, to the point he kept it with him at all times."

Neo glared at this red-eyed woman. She wasn't interested in wordplay.

"Your power puts you well above the common rabble of humanity, but still a step below a goddess," the woman explained. "Fortunately, the gods left behind tools to make such things possible… _relics_ that only the Maidens can access."

* * *

Pyrrha listened to Ironwood drone on about something that sounded unbelievable. Glynda would interject on occasion, but the General did most of the talking. His flat, emotionless delivery made it easy to tune him out, but Pyrrha paid close attention to the terrible truth he laid bare.

A witch, older than the four kingdoms –possibly older than the rest of humanity, Ironwood speculated- was powerful enough to command the Grimm, soulless monsters that fought against humans at every turn. The Grimm apparently acted at her direct instruction, at least on occasion (Ironwood took a moment to suggest this was a rare occurrence) and had been positioned near Vale at this Salem's command, to coordinate an attack alongside Cinder Fall and her subordinates. The thought of someone pulling the Grimm's strings terrified her, and it seemed to terrify Glynda and Ironwood just as much.

"We suspect she's the one who made it possible for Cinder to steal part of the Fall Maiden's power before –leading to this strange state where multiple portions of it are incarnate in different hosts- though we aren't exactly sure," Ironwood continued. "We've been tracking her agents' movements when we can, but she still managed to infiltrate Beacon right under our noses."

"Why not use your army, General? Why not attack her if you can leave the Grimm leaderless?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Because we don't know where she is," Ironwood answered. "Ozpin told us she has a keep, a base of operations _somewhere_ in Remnant, but we've never been able to find it. Ozpin also instructed us not to engage her if it could be avoided, as he firmly believed it'd take the cooperation of multiple kingdoms' militaries to mount an offensive against her. I didn't share that belief, but I deferred to his judgment."

"As we all did," Glynda added. "The kingdoms had been enjoying a period of peace, and a military buildup would've made that difficult to maintain. We only became more proactive recently, when Salem and her forces started targeting the Maidens… if she had _their_ power on her side she could… well, she could do much worse than send the Grimm to attack us."

"And now we've let one of her former minions keep that power," Ironwood mused. "We were very fortunate that Qrow retrieved the relic from Beacon."

"Relic?" Pyrrha repeated.

Ironwood and Glynda stared at her for a long moment, then looked at each other. Ironwood indulged in a long sigh. "It's… complicated."

"I'm sure," Pyrrha agreed. "So you should probably get started."

Ironwood didn't seem inclined to speak further, so Glynda finally took the reins. "There are a great many surviving pieces of our civilization that were studied here in Beacon and at the other huntsmen academies; including a number that were revered by ancient cultures… and some valued long after, all the way to the Great War. According to Professor Ozpin, four such relics predate human civilization… they were created by the brothers."

"Myths and susperstition," Ironwood snarled.

"But demonstrably powerful," Glynda argued. "One of the four was here at Beacon, in Professor Ozpin's charge…"

* * *

"…the Relic of Choice," the red-eyed woman explained to Neo. "One of the four left behind by the gods who created this remnant. Ozpin decreed that the Fall Maiden would be able to access it, for one who must exist between summer and winter has no option but to decide the fate of the world."

"What does _any_ of that mean?" Jaune asked, having never once lowered his sword.

The woman didn't seem pleased by his interjection, but she humored him. "That your friend can make a choice for herself. But more importantly than that, she can make a choice for _everyone else_."

Neo couldn't help but pay attention. She doubted any of this was true, but the woman spoke with such zeal Neo was unavoidably captivated.

"The Relic of Choice can bend the will of those exposed to its power," the red-eyed woman explained. "With it, you can make a person believe the freezing cold winds are the sun's rays on a warm summer day. You can make the most pious of men renounce everything they hold dear. You can make the worst monster into the world's greatest hero. You can make someone hate. You can make someone _love_."

She spoke the last word with a particular bitterness, the first emotion that passed her lips without her firmly clamping down on it and reasserting her control. Neo had never had to watch what she said, but she'd heard lies often enough to know when the truth forced its way out. Either this strange woman had suffered the downside to loving someone or she actively detested the very possibility of it. Neither possibility bode well.

"Give it to me, and I will grant you anything in the world you wish," the red-eyed woman promised. "Because with the relic, I _can_. Because with that power _anything_ is possible."

Not the 'anything' Neo wanted.

Roman was still dead. And whatever change in a person's mind this relic could affect, it could not reawaken the dead.

And Jaune Arc was still beside her. He still loved her, and she needed nothing more than that from him.

But the more she thought on it… on what Vale and Atlas might do… about how far their gratitude for saving the academy might extend after they had time to count the dead.

She'd been saving her power in case Emerald tried something. Her doubts manifested on her face, and the red-eyed woman took notice.

"Consider my offer," she instructed. "I will speak with you again when you've had time to weigh your options."

The hologram disappeared as the transmission ended. Emerald put her Scroll away as she and Mercury slowly began to slink away.

"Wait!" Jaune called. "Are you guys really still trying to work for these people after what they did to Beacon? After they turned the Grimm on innocent people?!"

Mercury merely shrugged. Emerald didn't reply at all, merely turning away from him as they walked away… and then vanished entirely, as though they'd never been there at all.

Jaune continued to glance around for several seconds before turning his attention back to Neo. She eventually looked up at him, waiting for him to speak his piece. He started to speak several times, before he stopped himself and contemplated his next action, every bit as silent as Neo herself.

When he finally did speak he said: "I have faith in you, Neo. I know you're not like them."

It was exactly what she'd wanted to hear from him. It was exactly what she'd come to expect of Jaune Arc.

He gathered up what food was still good of the supplies he dropped and waited on her to accompany him. Neo was slow to follow, but did eventually join him in heading out from the courtyard.

It was no surprise he believed in her. He believed in her _before_ she had this extraordinary power, and before she had potential to access an even greater one. He believed in her even after he learned just how bloody her hands really were.

He was a fool to believe.

Their approach to the landing pads at the cliffside was interrupted by the arrival of a disheveled man drinking from a hip flask, a broadsword strapped to the small of his back. Jaune seemed to recognize him, at least. "Hey… you're Ruby's uncle, right?"

The man took a needlessly long time to finish his drink before he replied. "Yup," he replied, more belch than word. "I'm here to bring you kids back to the safe zone. A few people wanted words with your friend." He jerked his free thumb at Neo.

The time was drawing nearer. Her 'allies' were running out of reasons to continue indulging her, now that the threat had been dealt with. They'd put their faith in Pyrrha and Blake instead, reasoning that two Maidens would be easier to deal with, especially when both had loyally fought for their school when Neo had meant to destroy it.

It was fortunate she never trusted anyone but Jaune and –to a lesser extent- the others made Fall Maiden like herself. And that trust only existed because Jaune had been willing to take a chance on her and Pyrrha had been willing to apologize for her errors in judgment. They were young and naïve enough to believe they made mistakes. Those with entrenched power never shared that viewpoint.

And they were naïve enough to hope for the better; that because they came together and fought off the darkness the others fighting on their side might be able to forget old grievances and strive to do better. Neo could forgive them –even someone world weary like Blake- for thinking things could get better after a great victory. They embodied the spirit Huntsmen and Maidens alike were meant to inspire.

They were all fools.

* * *

"And the relic in question was tied to the Fall Maiden, who resided her on Sanus," Glynda continued. "Each of the four huntsmen academies defend their relic, and each kingdom has a Maiden who can access it. When Cinder wounded the Fall Maiden, we weren't yet sure if she intended to take it.. she didn't seem to be aware of it, as she left it behind after Professor Ozpin's death."

"Or simply didn't realize where it was hidden," Ironwood argued. "She may have simply felt knocking out the CCT and cutting communications was a more important objective at the time."

"Regardless, we were able to recover it and keep it safe," Glynda assured her. "But it was another one of the reasons we were wary about allowing public knowledge of the Maidens… in case someone like Salem -or anyone else with the resources and the knowledge- tried to steal it away and use its powers for themselves."

"And when you offered me this power, you meant for me to… what? Stop my studies and go to some other part of the continent?" Pyrrha speculated. "Or did you _want_ to keep the key closer at hand?"

"We were never going to force you to do anything," Glynda answered.

"Not even keep your secret going?" Pyrrha pressed.

Glynda didn't answer. She merely averted her gaze.

Pyrrha suspected she wasn't going to get anywhere with that particular topic, so she refocused her attention on the more important matters. "Where is the relic now?"

Ironwood merely stared straight ahead.

"Do you still not trust me?" Pyrrha asked, trying to mask any indignation, but only half-heartedly.

" _You're_ not the one I need to keep it from," was Ironwood's flat reply.

No, of course not. Other than revealing the truth about the Maidens, Pyrrha had done what they wanted, and announced her intention to defend the kingdom from harm. They didn't suspect her of stealing a powerful artifact and using it for her own ends.

But they suspected a part of her; someone she was bound with. Someone _everyone_ suspected, and allowed mistrust to fester because it was easier to condemn her than understand her.

Pyrrha stood up from her seat and strode away. Ironwood called to her back: "We're not done here."

A day earlier, Pyrrha would've stopped and indulged him. She would've been the loyal soldier Ironwood wished her to be, and Ozpin had subtly encouraged. A day earlier she didn't have the memories of Blake Belladonna –who'd heard far too many tales of the authoritarian brutality of Atlas- and Neo, who reminded her that friends and adversaries could easily change roles with the right motivation.

"Then stop me," Pyrrha suggested, not breaking her stride as she stepped outside the barracks.

Once she emerged into the light, Pyrrha found herself surrounded by citizens, Atlesian soldiers, and some of the huntsmen-in-training from the tournament. Many of them looked on in awe, and anyone even vaguely in her path moved aside to give her a wide berth. Some even dropped to kneel before her.

At once Pyrrha reached down a hand to help them up. She'd experienced similar adulation as a star athelete, but she had no wish to be _worshipped_.

Though perhaps that was unavoidable now. Perhaps she'd inadvertently placed herself above them by declaring herself their guardian. Perhaps she'd frightened a few into thinking they should submit before her unusual power.

She was their defender, not their ruler. No one needed to prostrate themselves before her. They didn't even need to thank her.

All she did was what she believed to be right. That wasn't something that required a reward. That wasn't something that merited worship.

Saving them... that was her destiny.

* * *

Blake continued to stare at the little sphere swirling about, even as it lay flat in the palm of her hand. Her three teammates crowded around to observe the curious phenomena, though Blake wasn't sure what to make of it herself. Ruby tried to reach over and poke it, but fortunately Yang intervened in time, pulling her baby sister back by the wrist.

"Why would Professor Ozpin keep this thing in his cane?" Weiss inquired.

"And why would Blake be able to pull it out?" Yang wondered.

"I think Uncle Qrow was kidding about what he said, but I'll bet it's some kind of weapon," Ruby speculated. "Or maybe something lame like a strange energy source or like a codex that lets you understand what Grimm say."

"I don't think Grimm actually _say_ anything," Weiss dryly noted.

"I'm just saying it could be something weird and pointless," Ruby replied. "Professor Ozpin was kind of… unpredictable."

But based on the memories Blake received from Pyrrha, Ozpin was also keeping secrets close to his vest. He never let the cane leave his side in his life, so presumably if something was important enough to not only conceal but keep on his person…

Blake wasn't sure what it was, only that her Aura resonated with it. It _responded_ to her, as though her energy could affect it somehow… as though it was simply waiting for her to instruct it to action, asking for a command with every rotation, with a vibration pushing down into her palm like the pulse of a heartbeat.

It was just a tiny spherical stone. Why did it have a pulse?

Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps. Blake lifted her head, finally breaking eye contact from the small stone. "Company."

A tall figure knocked on the side of their tent… but pressed his fist against tarp, so the knocking sound was invariably muffled. "Uh, hello?" Blake recognized Jaune's voice. "I'm not sure where the door is…"

It was always reassuring to see Jaune behaving like himself. Ruby went over to allow him entrance, and Jaune stepped inside, brushing his tall blonde head against the roof of their lodgings. "Hey, guys, we brought snacks from our dorm raid. Figured you could use a bite."

Blake had to admit she was hungry. She took one last glance at the little bauble before setting it down on the mattress, watching it fall silent on the fabric, turning once more into a piece of dull spherical stone. Her Aura slowly dissipated on the surface of her hand as Blake went to join her friends in perusing what Jaune brought back for them. Putting some food in their hands definitely improved the girls' moods… until a familiar bowler hat found its way into their tent, attached to a girl with tricolored hair and a bit of a short stature.

Yang and Ruby immediately tensed up. Neo fixed her attention on the sisters, but only for a moment. She stepped past them and turned her attention to Blake. Jaune immediately attempted to distract Yang and Ruby and block Neo from sight with his tall frame, but that only gave Yang license to glare right through him.

Neo pulled out her Scroll and typed a message for Blake: _Cinder's friends are still in Beacon._

Blake read quickly. "Who?"

 _Emerald and Mercury. And they've got a new boss._

Blake nodded. "If they decided to stick around I'm sure we can find where they're hiding. Hopefully that'll be the last of it."

Neo stepped past Blake, giving the Faunus a good view of Roman Torchwick's bowler hat on her head. "Did you… find what you were looking for?"

Neo didn't answer, only lowering her head ever so slightly. Blake averted her gaze -even from the back of Neo's head- as she realized she may have overstepped.

Blake felt it too, that sense of missing Roman Torchwick. It was every bit as real as the virulent hate she'd once held for him, and it was difficult to square the two conflicting feelings. It wasn't terribly different than trying to make sense of her memories of Adam… of love of him and fear of him, of sorrow at how he'd lost himself and gratitude he'd been killed before he could do more harm… of gratitude to Neo, his killer.

And Neo's presence gave her something to be grateful for. She lessened the feeling of burning hunger within Blake; she and Jaune both. She wasn't yet complete, but she was close enough to whole she no longer felt as much discomfort.

Neo was still walking slowly with her head pointed down. Blake wondered what might've affected her… until she noticed Ozpin's open cane still on the ground and the stone Neo now hoisted up from Blake's bed in one gloved hand.

It was understandable she was curious… but Neo didn't seem at all surprised when her Aura started to emerge, and the tiny stone resonated with it…

Blake's sensitive ears heard a shifting of gears behind her. She heard steel slicing through open air.

Blake jumped over to Jaune and pushed him to the ground as a blade pushed its way into their tent. From the ground Blake heard a stunned cry from Ruby: "Uncle Qrow?!"

"Drop it," Qrow firmly instructed, leveling his sword at Neo.

The short girl turned around, holding the relic flat in her palm with Aura rising off her body and causing the sphere to spin rapidly in her hand… and she cast Qrow a quizzical sort of smile.

Jaune glanced up from the ground at her. "Neo… is that what I think it is?"

"And _what_ do you think it is?" Blake quickly inquired.

"Uh, the weird gray-skinned lady with the red eyes called it 'the Relic of Choice'," Jaune answered.

Qrow tensed up, still pointing his sword at Neo. "Put it down. _Now_."

Yang hoisted her fists up and activated Ember Celica. Weiss followed suit by leveling Myrtenaster. Ruby tried to pull out Crescent Rose before taking note of how cramped the tent had become… only to solve the problem by chopping the roof away with her scythe and cause the temporary housing to collapse, exposing them all to open air and giving them room to maneuver.

Jaune and Blake slowly stood up, watching Neo intently. She moved her gaze along them, the sphere in her hand spinning faster and faster.

"Uncle Qrow… we didn't think you were serious about that thing," Ruby tried to say.

"Yeah, I noticed," Qrow grumbled. "It also didn't occur to me you guys would actually get it open." He didn't take his eyes off Neo, but jerked his head at Blake. "Seems obvious in retrospect."

"What does that thing do?" Yang inquired, still keeping her fists elevated and at the ready.

"I'd rather not say at the moment," Qrow replied. "In case she gets any ideas."

"She already knows," Jaune interjected. "Or at least, the woman Emerald and Mercury are working for told her what she _thinks_ it does."

"And?" Yang demanded.

"And it's okay," Jaune assured her, turning a gentle smile Neo's way. "She doesn't need it."

From him, Neo didn't require any change. She had no wish to alter his mind and rob him of his will.

But Ruby Rose… the girl who killed Roman… Neo might quite enjoy hearing her apologize, or perhaps deciding she couldn't live with the guilt of the life she'd taken…

And a suggestion from Neo would convince Yang Xiao Long to abandon her thirst for revenge…

And she could make the Huntsman brandishing his sword at her forget any reason to threaten her and go on his way, or even put his sword to use against anyone else who might vex Neo…

Or she could have the heiress to the SDC grant her all the Lien she'd ever need and then forget ever making such a donation…

Or…

She met Jaune's eye. His smile never wavered. He would not doubt her again.

And it was Neo who found it difficult to meet his eye now. It was hard to think she might shatter that naïve, foolish hope… that she might be willing to take the practical option when it presented itself…

Blake was more apprehensive, but she did not raise her weapon. As she had twice before, she waited for Neo to decide her course, putting her faith in Jaune's firm belief that Neo would do the right thing if given the opportunity.

Another source of movement drew Neo's attention, as a familiar mane of red hair moved to join them, standing nearly as tall as Jaune as she moved to join them.

"They told me what their plans are for you, Neo," Pyrrha said, her friends all looking over when she spoke, only Jaune and Qrow maintaining their steady eye contact. "Ironwood is determined to punish you for all you've done. It doesn't matter to him that you saved Beacon… or at least, it doesn't matter enough for him to look the other way."

Another problem her new find could solve… she could erase all her crimes against Atlas in a moment, or even have them hail her as a hero.

Like the red-eyed woman suggested: a monster hailed as a hero.

"I told him anyone could be redeemed," Pyrrha went on. "I believed in you when you had my life in your hand and revenge right in front of you and I believe in you now."

"And so do I," Blake confirmed.

With this relic in her hand Neo could erase their love for Jaune and have him all to herself. She could make it as though they never loved him, and Jaune never loved anyone but her.

She thought of kissing him under a black moon. Of him taking her hand on the dance floor. Of a forehead pressed to hers' as they sat on his bed. Of an embrace in the Emerald Forest when their souls met for the first time. Of love forming for him somewhere between, and always for the same reason.

If Neo had killed them both, she alone would be the Fall Maiden. If she used the relic, she alone would have the power to influence the entire world. Each pulse of the tiny stone in her hand asked again and again what she wished to enact.

If she just spoke her wish.

Neo stepped towards Qrow. He was apprehensive but did not retreat, keeping his weapon fixed on her small frame.

With the power in her hand she could have anything she wished for.

She found Jaune's eyes again, never once having allowed them to deviate, never once fearing what so many others feared.

Neo held out her hand, keeping her fingers flat. She had to elevate her arm a little so the stone was closer to Qrow, in case he hadn't taken the hint.

Qrow was much like her; hardened by hardship and loss. He didn't trust easily… but he did when that trust was earned. When he believed people had sincere intentions, he gave them the chance to prove themselves… and if he'd worked with Ozpin to fight against impossible odds, he must've believed in hope.

Qrow relaxed one hand from the hilt of his sword and tentatively reached forward, turning his own hand over flat. Neo dropped the stone in his hand and the tiny relic ceased its rotation and it lay silent in the older huntsman's hand.

Jaune's smile widened as he moved over to Neo, pulling her into a tight hug before she'd even managed to lower her arn. Blake and Pyrrha stepped over, Blake pressing her forehead between Jaune's chest and Neo's hat, and Pyrrha taking hold of Neo's left hand with her own.

Ruby reached past them to hoist Ozpin's cane off the floor, handing it to her uncle with an awkward cough. Qrow was slow to respond to this prompting too, but collapsed his blade down to its compact form and sheathed the weapon before accepting the trinket from his niece.

Qrow moved to insert the sphere back into Ozpin's cane before stopping a moment, looking contemplative. Once he'd made up his mind, he tapped Jaune on his shoulder and instructed: "Follow me, all of you."

They broke their embrace and complied with Qrow's request, but on her way out Neo felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see the tall blonde Yang looking down at her.

"This doesn't square us… for all I know you could still be up to something and just playing the long game," Yang muttered. "But Blake told me you were on the level, and I trust her." She avoided looking into Neo's twin colored eyes a moment later. "I don't think I'll ever like you, pint-size, but that's exactly the sort of thing I told Blake I'd look for… and exactly what I didn't think you'd do when you were given a chance."

Slowly, Yang extended her right hand, offering it to Neo. Yang fixed her lilac eyes on Neo's pink and brown, doing her level best to maintain contact.

Neo hadn't yet squared matters either. She may have avenged Roman's death by killing Cinder Fall, but the woman who saw to his end still lived, crouched behind this tall blonde offering a fresh start.

Fools, all of them.

It seemed Neo was foolish now too.

She accepted the offer and shook Yang's hand before moving to follow Qrow and the others.

* * *

Qrow told the plan to Ironwood and Glynda. The general was skeptical, but he seemed willing to go along when he was promised trophies; two prisoners of the battle for him to parade around and salvage some of his credibility after his role as director of security ended so disastrously. While he wasn't at all pleased to let Neo go, he agreed to recommend granting her a pardon to the Atlesian council if she provided him with two others he could march in irons when he returned to his kingdom. In the end, it seemed justice for his men was less important than saving face.

Neo returned to the Beacon courtyard at nightfall with Ozpin's cane in tow. Emerald and Mercury arrived quickly to greet her when they saw what she was carrying, and they once again put up a projection of their new leader, who smiled at the sight of the trophy Neo brought her from her defeated nemesis. "You've made the right choice, child."

The red-eyed witch was right. She _had_.

Neo waited for Emerald to draw nearer. With one hand holding the Scroll, she'd be limited in where she could attack. And if she cast an illusion… Neo had plenty of her own.

When Emerald was close, Aura radiated off Neo's body and she extended her blade from her umbrella, coating it in her outpouring power. Neo cut the empty air, tearing through reality with her blink and eventually illuminating Emerald's actual location and finding the right place to strike.

Mercury moved to intercede, jumping in the air and aiming one metal leg for Neo's flank, only for him to abruptly stop in midair, then be flung back by a magnetic pull on his extended foot. Pyrrha slammed him into the ground again and again until the Aura was knocked from his body. Blake joined the fray and struck him while he was vulnerable with a kick to the face, remarking: " _That_ was for Yang."

Neo turned her attention to Emerald, who attempted to flee, dropping her Scroll to the ground. Neo blinked right into her path and cut at her general location… knowing that Emerald could only trick her so long… and only fool one mind at once.

Pyrrha and Blake surrounded her and leveled their weapons. Emerald attempted to find her escape route, but Blake and Pyrrha cut her off at multiple angles and attacked, and eventually she joined her partner unconscious on the ground.

Neo walked over to Emerald's discarded Scroll, the holographic projection of the witch looking quite displeased. It wasn't often anyone had to look _up_ at Neo.

"You made a very poor choice, Fall Maiden," the red-eyed witch assured her. "I'll remember this defiance."

Neo tilted her head and cast a quizzical smile at her before abruptly ending the communication, tossing Emerald's Scroll over to the unconscious green-haired girl to be logged by Atlas right along with her.

* * *

Ironwood wasn't _entirely_ pleased with the charges given to him, but honored his promise and sent his recommendation to the council in Atlas. He was about to depart with his prisoners when Blake raised her hand and called for his attention. "General, before you go, I wanted to ask about the cleanup crews you're sending into Beacon. Will they be recovering bodies?"

"Of course," Ironwood confirmed. "We want to display the mastermind of this plot as well."

"It's not her that interests me," Blake assured him. "I want Adam Taurus, the White Fang leader."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"To send his body back to Sienna Khan," Blake explained. "And give her a chance to prove the White Fang isn't like him… that the _Faunus_ aren't like him."

Ironwood didn't seem happy with the request, but Blake had bothered him the least of the three Maidens, and as he'd be getting Cinder Fall and her other two lieutenants as trophies… "Very well, Miss Belladonna. We'll see it brought to you… even arrange transport if you like."

"Thank you," was Blake's sincere response.

* * *

Sleep still managed to elude them. Jaune wouldn't sleep until Blake slept, and Pyrrha wouldn't sleep until Jaune slept, and Neo wanted to see Cinder Fall's body for one final opportunity to take stock of her work. Jaune and Pyrrha found time to check on Ren and Nora, but otherwise remained with those they'd bonded with, waiting outside the new tent provided to them after the unexpected 'weapons malfunction' destroyed the first.

Atlesian soldiers found their way to them with the bodies in wooden caskets on carts; remarkably low-tech from Atlas. Neo took one lingering look at Cinder and her two stab wounds, then prepared to leave when Adam came around… only for Blake to take hold of her wrist and keep her in place. Apparently keeping Adam's killer present was less painful than sending part of her soul away.

The Atlesian soldiers left him before her and stood away for a moment. Blake stepped forward to run a hand over his cold cheek, then another up through his spiky red hair. She leaned down into the makeshift casket and pressed her forehead to his, holding herself there a long moment.

Jaune reached a hand to her shoulder. Pyrrha embraced her from behind. Neo wrapped herself around Blake's free arm, contrasting their warmth with the cold of death before her, and the bonds she had now with the one she severed.

She couldn't think of the words. He was the first man she'd loved, and no matter what he became, no matter what his hatred twisted him into, she couldn't forget that.

Blake withdrew from him and nodded to the guards. They stepped over and put a lid over Adam's body, taking him to another transport ship bound for Mistral, to be presented before the White Fang's high leader. He could no longer be punished for his crimes, but any legacy he may have hoped to build for himself would be marred by his tragic descent and tattered further by his humiliating defeat.

It wasn't the end Blake wished for him, even at his lowest. But it was the choice he'd made. Just as she made hers'.

Blake turned around to embrace her friends and then _finally_ to search for rest, hoping she could finally find peace.

* * *

Glynda assumed the post of headmistress in Ozpin's absence after receiving approval from the Vale Council. At both Glynda and Pyrrha's urging, they agreed to pardon Neo for her crimes committed in Vale, but insisted that she be put under Glynda's charge rather than operate autonomously. Though the Council was aware of Neo and Blake's status of sharing the Fall Maiden powers, they had no wish to announce any more than Pyrrha already had and kept the matter to themselves.

A handful of citizens left Vale, but the numbers were not significant. While some patrons of the Vytal Festival expressed their displeasure –even outrage- at the attack during the tournament, many more expressed their gratitude at having been saved from a deadly terrorist attack. Sienna Khan issued a communique condemning Adam's actions and requesting to open discussions towards a peaceful resolution, ordering all offensive White Fang operations to cease and granting the Schnee Dust Company safe passage in Mistral for the first time in five years. General Ironwood paraded around his captured criminals and regained the confidence of his kingdom's council, though _he_ was not the hero eyes turned to in the aftermath of the Battle of Beacon.

Pyrrha Nikos was quite used to the rigors of fame, but the adulation piled on her now was overwhelming. Though she still had detractors trying to link the death of Penny Polendina to Pyrrha's ascension as Guardian of Vale, they were quickly droned out by the praise she received for saving the lives of four kingdoms' citizens. Pyrrha soon found it comforting to remain at Beacon with her friends rather than go outside and be swarmed by the grateful masses… though it helped she was sincere in continuing her studies.

Beacon suffered considerable structural damage, but after just a few weeks of effort by the remaining citizens and the outpouring of support from those lives saved...

* * *

Neo didn't care for the uniform. It was too big –all the clothes in the school were too big- and she was having a hard time with the skirt being too loose on her. She was also a pretty terrible student, but Jaune and Pyrrha did what they could to help her come around.

The four person team structure was largely preserved, though the unique needs of the three Maidens led to a slight adjustment in housing. Ren and Nora occupied a dorm nearby, generously donated from the now defunct Team CRDL when three of its members abandoned Beacon in the battle. Blake could now freely travel between her teammates and those her soul was bound with, though they hadn't yet figured out how they were going to sortie on missions… if they'd even do that at all. Maybe they'd just need to send all nine of them out at once.

The dining hall was still a bit of a mess even weeks later, but Jaune's inroads made with local Vale food suppliers helped keep the student population fed. Neo was going mad without a ready source of ice cream, though she was starting to get used to Ren's cooking. She just wished she could eat something sweet for a change.

"Peanut butter and jelly again?" Yang whined as she looked over her plate. "I thought you could source us _good_ food, Ladykiller."

"This _is_ good food," Jaune assured her. "The bread's a nine-grain wheat with all kinds of nuts embedded in it-"

Pyrrha smiled as Jaune went on. She knew this would drag out a bit long –as dinner always did- but she was looking forward to tonight, when she'd finally train with him on the roof again. It'd been maddening giving Neo her night, because she always seemed to have the same idea on how to spend it… and Blake hadn't been far behind with similar ideas.

Weiss glanced down at her Scroll when it beeped at her before immediately turning the device to silent and pressing it flat to the table. Blake glanced over and asked: "Your dad again?"

"Wouldn't know," Weiss whimsically replied, before doing what she could with the sandwich on hand.

Neo glanced over at Pyrrha's quiet smile. She knew what was on the redhead's mind as she watched Jaune… and then Neo turned her attention to Blake, who merely shook her head. It was never easy being apart from them –or for letting Jaune dote on one of them and not the other two- but it'd all be worth it when their turn came for time with their love.

"Um… hey… Neo?"

Neo turned to see Ruby wander over, holding something behind her back and avoiding the shorter girl's gaze. "Listen, I went into Vale today and saw that parlor you used to go to was reopened. I was just gonna ask 'em for some cookie dough, but they wanted me to take something to you…"

When Ruby revealed the multi-scoop, multi-flavored sundae (half-melted, likely due to travel) Neo's jaw was near the floor. She was so happy she actually hugged the silver-eyed girl.

Hugged someone she once wanted to kill… hugged someone she thought she'd devoted her life to hating, to seeking revenge on…

Neo broke the embrace quickly, then graciously accepted the dessert and typed a short 'thank you' into her Scroll.

She wasn't there yet. She wasn't quite able to forgive.

But she was closer, and moving closer every day, step by step and brick by brick.

Ruby smiled and moved to sit beside her sister, who pulled Ruby into a headlock. "What, no ice cream for the rest of us?!"

"Yang, it was supposed to be for their 'favorite customer'," Ruby explained, squirming her way out.

"And you didn't think to _buy_ ice cream for the rest of us while you were there?" Yang teased.

"I only have two hands! And that sundae was heavy!" Ruby protested.

Yang sighed, hoisting up her peanut butter and jelly. "Well, here I am, condemned to suffer with just PB&J…"

Nora, already on her fifth, opened her messy lips to remark: "That sounds awesome to me." Ren patted her shoulder and shook his head before returning to his tea. Yang, meanwhile, fixated on the sandwich in her hand like she'd never seen it before.

"Oh, and Glynda sent me a text about wanting to introduce us to some new transfer student," Ruby added. "My Uncle Qrow found him in Anima and said he's a special kid. You get the same message, Jaune?"

Jaune pulled out his Scroll and read the text. "Oscar Pine… huh… wonder what his deal is?"

"PBNJ!" Yang suddenly interjected, slamming her sandwich-grasping fist onto the table, startling everyone… save Neo, anyway, who was too busy working on her fourth scoop.

"Uh… what?" was Ruby's cogent reply.

" **P** yrrha, **B** lake, **N** eo, and **J** aune!" Yang explained, emphasizing the first letter. "They have a team!"

Blake sighed at her partner's curious revelation. "And what about the rest of you, Yang? What do your five names spell out?"

"Let's see… **Y** , **W** , **N** , **R** , and… **R** ," Yang noted, drawing her fingers to her chin and going deep into thought.

"Why would we want to be on your team instead of the one we've always been on?" Nora wondered, halfway through her seventh sandwich.

"Nora, there's no need to be mean," Ren politely suggested.

"Yeah, if you're not gonna help then just go with whatever plan I come up with!" Yang suggested. "How about… Team… uh… well, if we treat the first 'R' like a 'B' it could be 'brawny'!"

"Charming," Weiss deadpanned.

Pyrrha took hold of Jaune's hand and gently prodded him. He took the hint and joined her in sliding away, as Yang fought an increasingly desperate battle to form a new team with people who didn't care to be on it or couldn't accept her new team name. Spotting Pyrrha attempt to abscond with Jaune, Blake slid after, and Neo even abandoned what little ice cream remained to follow.

"Ladies, please, it _is_ my night," Pyrrha reminded them.

"Just wanted to see him off," Blake assured. She went first, and Jaune complied immediately, lowering himself a bit so she could press her forehead to his. She didn't milk it for more than a few moments, and Neo stepped in next, forcing Jaune to bend even lower to embrace her with a hug, Neo nestling to him and quite deliberately taking her time.

Eventually, however, he did as Pyrrha requested and followed after her with a lingering smile back at Blake and Neo.

It was a strange system to be sure… to try and balance their love for him while he tried to shoulder the weight of supporting all of them. It had been working so far, but every now and then jealousy reared its head and disagreements were not infrequent, even with how well the three girls knew each other.

But with Jaune they had common purpose. With them Jaune had a shared love.

It wasn't perfect, but it was the change that brought Neo and Blake a happiness that had eluded them a long time, and ensured that the Fall Maiden would never again be alone to face the dangers from Salem to those who'd simply strayed from the correct path as Neo and Blake once had.

When Blake watched him leave she took solace in not needing to reach out, because he'd return to her.

When Neo watched him leave she trusted him not to forget her love, believed that Pyrrha would finally join them in their particular bond with Jaune, and hoped things would remain as they were, because strange as it may have been, she felt content with how things turned out.

All because of one night and one man's kindness… a terrible fate had been averted. She'd lost someone. Blake lost someone. Pyrrha would be forever haunted by the life she took.

But they were not alone, and the pain of loss was not so great, united as they were now in body and soul, the Maidens and the knight who changed all their lives.


End file.
